Darkest Kiss
by Oceanwind
Summary: "It was the first time he had ever kicked me out of his cot and I tried not to feel hurt at his words. I could see the storm brewing in his eyes, the fault and blame he was carrying for a failed mission. It wasn't like I was in the mood to stay up all night and glare at the wall anyways. His silent company wasn't needed tonight." Zombies, action, and ZoNa inside. M for Language
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer**: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters**.**

However, I **DO** own this plot and this story. **This story was previously **Dying Kiss**, the name was obviously changed. :)**

**Summary:** Nami has lost her memory and is land locked with a few people that call her a friend, only she can't remember them. She finds that the government is destroying the world and released a terrible drug that has turned half the world into Zombies. Yes, Zombies, flesh eating rotting corpses. And better yet she finds that she was turned into an Other - a half Zombie that doesn't lose its intelligence and hunts down loved ones. As her memory slowly returns she finds that she has the key to bring down the government once and for all. But do her friends trust her enough to actually help her? And why is it that she keeps catching Zoro giving her funny looks?

_Now let me present~_

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter One**

It wasn't like I couldn't remember anything. No, I can remember things from my childhood and even my early years of a teenager. I can remember the last moment I had as a 'human' and I remember everything since they have brought me back here. Since they've 'woken' me up, as they like to call it, I'm considered 'human' again. The large gap in my memory makes me weary, it feels too surreal and the fact that they keep me locked up away from the devastation I can't be sure if they are telling the truth.

They tell me I was friends with them before it happened. One of them even knows my birthday and favorite color. But besides fact finding things about myself that no one but a good friend would know, they won't tell me too much, just make me take medicine every day and make sure I actually eat. For the most part I just sit in the corner and watch them wearily. It could all be a cruel joke. I could just be kidnapped or something bizarre and they are covering it up with the world ending. I try to think of a lot of things or situations, but the defeated looks and long hours that they disappear tell me differently.

It's more like a war. A war for humanity and from the one memory I do have left that tells me they might be losing. The terrifying heart stopping truth that I try not to think about, I wasn't considered human to them. I think some of them still don't trust me either, judging by the harsh words or the distrustful glances when I start muttering to myself. I have no idea for how long or even why but I am back now and trusted not to kill anyone in their sleep or leave this place randomly.

I'm starting to get restless. There's no way to tell what day or year it is, and when I ask I'm ignored or told that it 'doesn't fucking matter anymore'. I would start to go insane, or maybe I already am. For as long as I can remember I have a general dislike for children, but out of the small group there seems to be one, and that one kid has a super odd attachment to me. That should be the first point of insanity. The other's being small things like the horrible case of insomnia I seem to have developed and the vivid hallucinations and mutterings I do at times.

Back to the kid though, the little weirdo wears a freaking motorcycle helmet and only takes it off to sleep. I think it has the same calming effect a superhero would have. The mask would protect him in some small way. I'm not sure. I just ignore him, but he spends a large amount of his time camped out next to me and trying to coax me into playing card games with him. Again I'm not sure how long it's been, but I crack every now and then. At least I can't see the stupid puppy dog eyes I know that under that helmet and looking at me.

And I'll admit it to myself. Playing cards isn't bad, there's a soothing aspect to it that brings out some normality in the whole situation. I just don't want that kid to think we're best friends and try and cuddle me at night or something. Just because I'm the only girl in the group does not make me the freaking mother. I don't find picking boogers and eating them cute or crapping pants and drooling everywhere adorable. It's disgusting and I could never understand why girl's my age would sit there and play with dolls and just get ready to be mother's. It always felt like a trap to me, like it was a cycle I couldn't escape from. I hated it then, and I hate it now. As much as I starting to grow fond of the silent well behaved kid, whose face I never really see, that would just quietly ask me to play cards, but I didn't want him to become my responsibility.

And it was unofficially my responsibility. They never asked it of me but it was quiet obvious. They would leave, all four of them would leave, and it would just be me and helmet face for hours on end on some days.

Today is one of those days.

Another nice thing about the kid was he didn't talk. He didn't pressure me to talk. Every now and then he would rip me off at a poker game and I would protest loudly but he would just shrug and pocket his ration of extra food. Yes we used food to gamble. It was a typical end of the world thing for you. It is one of the few things that has planted doubt into my heart, makes me think they might actually be telling me the truth. It makes it real. The hunger pains when they fail to secure more food or the bitter cold when they fail to get more firewood for the fireplace makes it painfully real.

I think we're in a bunker. The fireplace is obviously handmade. It is dug into the side of the wall, and is one of the few 'weak points' of this place. The space is only direct way in or out of this place but only someone the size of helmet head could crawl in or out easily. There is one metal wall lined with a few beds and a few that stack above that. Ten beds in all, but seven people. Chopper, the boy that wears the helmet, sleeps in the bunker closest to mine and again I growl silently at the thought that he might come and try and sink into my little hovel. I refuse to take a bed, even though it was offered. I don't like being that close to them. There is a broken radio in another corner and a crap ton of stored food in front of that. In the one free corner there was a large spit that was used for make shift baths and a source of clean water. Then there is the void, where they all huddle and do small things like plan, or play card games, the space is empty now. The small pile of clean and dirty clothes is mixed together on one side of the beds. The small space is dimly lit by a few lanterns they've hung everywhere. And there is a curtain that separates a small corner away from everyone else. Behind the curtain is my sleeping bag, where I sulk and glare at everyone on most days. It gives me just enough privacy to change clothes if I want, or do whatever else in privacy but I don't give myself that luxury. I like knowing what my 'friends' are up to and to be honest I like being in the midst of things and making them uncomfortable with my presences.

There is a latrine 50 feet away from the bunker. An escort is always needed though just in case. I'm allowed out daily to go to the rest room, but always during dawn or dusk. Never during the day, and it is even unthinkable to ask to go at night.

I would never ask to go at night. Despite being underground the noises that the Other's make is enough to scare me. That first night they brought me here I was sure I was making as much noise as them. They had to gag me, and told me to shut the hell up or they'd kill me. I believe that they would have, but I had been tired and actually went to sleep. I think it was the medicine they give me that makes my body so weary. Either way, that second night I heard the soft moans. I shivered and quaked silently begging the noise to go away. It would get closer sometimes and then drift away. It wasn't really human sounding, and it always sounded like it was calling to me beckoning me back to it. It was enough to drive me to sit on the edge of someone's bed.

Zoro. But I call him Moss head silently to myself some days just to make the situation less dreary. No one has bothered to introduce themselves to me. They all know my name and use it on occasion and use each other's names. If I paid closer attention I could tell who was who but I don't really care. There's Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Franky, Sanji and Chopper.

They are all close to my age, whatever that was; it was definitely in our late teens or early twenties. Besides Franky who looks old enough to be my dad and Chopper who is maybe 12 or 13. I can never tell how old a kid is. I just know small, medium and large. He's medium right now

Zoro and Luffy are the ones I feel the calmest with. Luffy just smiles so often and is carefree and lightens the situation immensely. He accepts me and trusts me fully and I can't help but feel the same way. Sanji I am okay with, he really just dotes on me too much. I get irritated and I blow him off but in a small way I'm glad that he is there and okay with me being there. Franky I get a big brother feeling with, but the cyborg seems to distance himself from me. We rarely talk and only when necessary. It's not that we don't like each other, well I don't dislike him, I can't really speak for him on that, but we don't have much in common. I don't trust Zoro but he is always helpful. He'll talk to me if I need it when I start mumbling to myself, or offer an extra piece of food when I stare blankly at the wall. He is the friend that knew my birthday and favorite color. I can't help but trust him a little more, even though he technically would be my captor if it wasn't the end of the world. Besides the freakish green hair, he would easily pass for some freaking model if the world wasn't ending. It was freaking typical but I couldn't really say much about my situation.

That second night though. The night I stopped counting how many days and nights it had been because those awful wailing noises above us. That unmistakable sound of footsteps and the heartbreaking screeches, it was enough to do me in and seek comfort. I couldn't cope with it. I stuffed my fist into my mouth but I knew I was letting out strangled cries. I crawled past Chopper's bed and sat on the edge of Zoro's. I don't know why. It felt like I was practically being pulled to him.

"Nami?" he had whispered calling out to me like he was unsure of what I would do. I had just tucked my legs up so I could burry my head in a classic weak fetal position and stayed on the edge of his bed.

He didn't say anything else after that. Just sat up and sat there next to me. Not close enough to touch but if I wanted I could have leaned on his shoulder. I think that was really what made him the supporter of the group. He was so stupidly unselfish it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I could give more examples of why he is unselfish but it really isn't needed. He's a good second in command and that's the end of that.

He stayed up for the whole night, just sitting next to me and offering silence as a companion, he never tries to make me talk and sometimes I don't say a single word. I just sit there lost in my own thoughts. It must be painfully awkward for him but he never complains. It doesn't happen very often, just on nights when those wailings and awful screeches are closer to the bunker than I feel comfortable with.

I'm not sure if everyone stays up because of the cries but if they do they don't say anything. I think it's an unspoken agreement not to talk to me about it.

"Are you ever going to go?" Chopper asked, his voice echoing oddly in the helmet but it was obvious he was annoyed. I growled and studied my cards again I had been lost in thought for who knows how long and this little punk just sits there and lets me wallow. I hate wallowing. I hate being stuck in this bunker. I want out and I want to know what the group is doing.

"Any five's?" I ask instead. I don't rant with Chopper. Hell, I don't rant with anyone. I think that is why they all are weary of me. If they were truly my friend's from 'before' they would know that I hate sitting still, that I hate being locked up and utterly useless.

"Go fish," Chopper said calmly.

Sighing I reached down to the pile and picked up another card. He hadn't told me but it was obvious that it was his favorite with how he would suggest it in a discreet shy way. I made him play poker a few times when I would get sick of it, or Old Maid, or my favorite War.

"Any Eight's?"

He must've asked more than once or he was still annoyed from my last zone out because he snapped the words impatiently.

I quietly handed him the eight of hearts that had been in my hand and watched as he shuffled around his cards and placed the pair down. He was thoroughly kicking my ass, I only had two pairs. He had several that he stacked up neatly in a small pile so as not to discourage me.

"Any … ummmm… Jacks?" he asked.

"Go Fish," I said smugly and if that stupid helmet didn't have such a drastic tint to it I would swear he was glaring at me. He had it cracked just enough so that his lips were showing but other than that his face was hidden. Every now and then he would frown or shyly smile but it was rare to see either, and I didn't pay enough attention to him to notice.

There was a loud bang and both Chopper and I jumped. I dropped my cards and tensed as I looked at the door expectantly. Chopper had stood up and walked to go get his knife. It was under his pillow where he normally kept it. I wasn't given a weapon. I wasn't allowed near their technology either. All that stuff was hidden under a large mat in the middle of the room half buried but with a thick piece of plastic sheet that made if safe to walk over. I stiffened at another bang, somewhere further than it had been and an angry cry filled the air.

"Chopper," I whispered nervously calling out to him. I was polite when it suited me and times when I was unsure I found myself addressing them. "Chopper, come here," I said sternly. His helmet turned in my direction and I could tell he was deciding if it was wise to listen to me or not. Another bang rang out, closer than the last one but further away than the first one rang out.

Chopper ignored me and settled near the door; knife gripped in his hand as he crouched tensed, and waited to strike out.

I hissed under my breath and started rummaging the other beds, hoping that someone might have left a stupid measly knife behind so I wouldn't feel so defenseless. If they gave Chopper one and not me that said something about their trust for me and it was really infuriating. I could easily disarm the kid if I wanted but I didn't know what was going on. If they caught me with a knife and if Chopper said anything they might go back to tying me up when they left. I refuse to let whatever barged through that door get me defenseless. I wasn't going back to the 'Others'.

My frantic search came to a stop as I looked over at a broomstick that was propped against the wall. It was there simply to keep the dirt from reaching the technology they had stored under that plastic. Usopp was very particular about it. Giving up in my search for a knife which I knew was futile I reached over and grabbed the broom.

Another boom rang out, much closer than all the other ones. Cursing under my breath I snapped the broom over my leg and tossed smaller end to the corner. Chopper eyed me wearily but didn't say anything.

Then the distinct shouts of Luffy could be heard and there was silence. Dead silence. There were no frantic footfalls or bangs or anything. Chopper and I sat by the door for hours in silence. Just staring at the door and willing for the distinctive knock to be heard.

Nothing.

By nightfall I feared the worst. I was too scared to stick my head out and try to figure out if it was safe or not. Despite the situation and my bitterness I didn't want anything to happen to my friends. I still cared for them and as far as I knew we were all what was left of people. I knew that was stupid, they told me there were several outlets of people in this city alone but having never seen anyone else I found it hard to believe. Our small group of seven is one of the largest gatherings. The other two that beat us seemed ridiculous. One group had fifty, another twenty-three, the rest were simple groups of four or less.

I wasn't sure what protocol was in this situation but I just wanted to sit tight and wait. I could tell by Chopper's fidgeting that he was debating on telling me something and I was sure he would want to leave. I gritted my teeth together and waited. The fireplace told me that the sun was starting to sink. The sky was getting darker and to conserve energy I switched off a few of the lanterns.

"We'll have to leave in the morning," Chopper said taking off his helmet and abandoning his spot by the door. He didn't look at all phased when I didn't respond and continued glaring at the door for everything it was worth. He just clambered into bed and promptly fell asleep.

Those pricks had left me with a kid. I was going to have to make sure we both survived this. It was my responsibility to make sure nothing happened to him now. My thoughts grew darker and darker as Chopper's soft snores filled the silent room. I had never been more aware of noise in my entire life. I clutched my broom handle and remained fixed by the door.

In the distance I could hear a few shots and booms. I realized now that was the sound of some type of cannon or gun and cringed. I almost missed it but there was a quiet knock on the door. A swift tap tap followed by the third one after a brief pause. I shot a nervous look to Chopper but he didn't seem to notice. I glared hard at the door, wondering if it was another one of my hallucinations but I heard it again.

Quickly debating with myself I pulled the lock and flung the door open. My broom handle ready to pierce whatever was on the other side.

I strangled a gasp as Zoro stood there holding Luffy. Both looked incredibly bloody. I took a step forward dropping my broom as I grabbed Luffy and hulled him in. Zoro paused for a moment and I heard the sound of scuffling before Usopp and Franky fell in as well. I swallowed the lump in my throat but I didn't ask what had happened to Sanji. The defeat atmosphere was enough to tell me.

Busily I took off Luffy's shirt and started probing his wounds. Franky and Usopp looked dazed but looked well enough to fend for themselves.

"Ambush," Zoro growled as he sat next to me and flipped Luffy on his back. He didn't need to tell me that but I figured he liked to let me know what was going on. I winced as I looked over Luffy's stomach. A large gash throbbed and pulsed so that more blood fell onto the floor. I fought the urge to gag.

"Supplies?" I asked.

Zoro shook his head. He looked like he wanted to punch something and I was half tempted to tell him to leave. No one needed to see him breakdown. It was hard enough as it was. The rock in the group couldn't lose it. Or maybe that was me being selfish and feeling powerless.

"Bitten? Or shot?" I asked.

Zoro looked a little relieved at this and shook his head no. He opened a bottle and silently beckoned me to hold Luffy's body down. I barely had enough time to pin him firmly to the ground when he doused Luffy with the liquid. I knew it was some type of cleanser as the flesh turned white and started to bubble. Luffy just groaned.

Quickly Zoro began to stitch his wound closed and then with my help we both wrapped it closed. We sat there panting and I fought the urge to puke. The scent of blood was heavy in the air.

"You're wounded Zoro," Chopper said from the bed.

His eyes flickered to the younger boy and he sighed. He turned to me imploringly and I wondered just how much I would have to do tonight. Thankfully I saw Usopp climbing into bed out of the corner of my eye as he and Franky where done tending to each other.

"Go to sleep, Chopper. It's nothing," he said quietly as he gestured me to help pick up Luffy. With a little effort we managed to half carry and drag him to his cot. Placing him carefully on his stomach, I was suddenly thankful that he had been unconscious through most of that.

"But your head…"

"I'll take care of it," I told Chopper when Zoro shot him a dirty look. Zoro was never this short, but then again losing a friend could do that to people.

I grabbed a clean cloth and pressed it to the shallow cut that seemed to be bleeding the most. Chopper looked relaxed and turned to face the wall and pretend to sleep. The only one I knew that was out cold was Luffy, but still I felt the need to actually talk, and I didn't mind that the rest of them would hear me.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Zoro snorted and rolled his eyes. Under his vest I could see a lot of blood but I wasn't sure if it was from Luffy or not. He noticed my eyes had shot down to the area and growled.

"I'll be fine…" he said softly. A bit too softly and I felt a sudden flash of anger towards him.

"Don't you dare try to fucking get-"

"Nami… I know you don't like the sight of blood. I'll take care of it," he said sternly. "Just wrap up my head and I'll get it when you go to sleep."

Oh right, he 'knew' me. I hated when people called me Nami in that soft tender voice, but I didn't protest this time. I was too interested and I felt sorry for them. I also felt a pang of loss, not seeing Sanji and the grief that hung in the air was hurting me. And I was furious with myself for once again not being able to remember. I want to know them, I want to understand what's going on but I couldn't.

Scoffing I quickly cleaned out his head wound and wrapped it. I didn't jump off his cot though and turned my body to face the wall while pointedly handing him the supplies. If the situation had been any different I'm sure he would have laughed at my antics.

"What were you guys trying to get this time?" I asked.

I was still very vague on the details but their last mission had been for a raid of cleaning supplies. Tooth brushes, soap, small things so that they could clean up a bit. I liked the extra sense of normality it brought but I couldn't quiet bring myself to support stupid missions that risked lives for a bar of soap. Not that I cared, I don't even know what is going on outside.

"We found another one," he said quietly.

Luffy had tried to explain things to me several times. I liked to try and remain arrogantly bliss about it. Maybe that was more of the problem. I didn't want to accept the situation. When Zoro said it so soft like that, when he said they found another one. He meant they found someone like me. I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and chanced to look at him. He had lifted his shirt slightly and was looking down at the wound that covered his side. It was a shallow wound, mostly like Luffy's only it was longer in length. He was busy dabbing it with a cloth and cleaning it out to notice my staring.

"There are more?"

He looked up then, pausing to press the cloth against his skin. The look he gave me was rather peculiar, like he was trying to decide what he should or shouldn't say. Finally he sighed and nodded.

"There are loads more. We took a special interest in you since… you were one of us for a while."

The words stung when I knew they shouldn't. I wasn't one of them anymore. I was like a feral dog they were trying to tame, pushing the limits to see what I could and couldn't handle. It was rather pointless. I was rather pointless, and practically useless. I was just another mouth to feed. But I had been one of them at one point; I had been a trusted member of the little odd group I was now growing so fond of. It was oddly comforting and distressing to know I had somewhere I belonged but didn't anymore.

I scooted forward and grabbed the cloth from him careful to avoid his searching gaze as I started to stitch him up. I kept my face blank, trying to hide my distress. They lost Sanji because they were trying to save someone like me. How many did they lose when they got me?

"Was he …" I tried to ask the right question but I knew I couldn't say it. Was he killed or was he turned? It would be better if he was just lost from us. Better that we couldn't fight to get him back and wear our resources out trying to save him. It might be selfish but if he died that also meant one less they had to worry about.

"He's at the other base for the night. He's injuries were too bad for us to treat."

I stopped in my work and let out a huge sigh of relief. Sanji might be annoyingly over protective of me and dote too much but I still considered him a friend. A wave of relief washed over me. I would hate for him to die or be turned, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Zoro gently brushed my hands away and resumed tending to himself.

"We might have to move. Usopp nearly gave away our position."

I nodded grimly.

"I think we are safe. Chopper and I didn't hear much after you guys disappeared."

Zoro sighed at me. Whether it was because I was trying to be hopeful and I didn't want to leave this place I was starting to get accustomed to or the fact that he was annoyed that I was refuting him I don't know.

"It's safer if we leave and change bases for now. We'll give it to someone else with a strong hold and we'll move to a safer area."

I didn't say anything this time. It was obvious that it wasn't my place to argue, but being in here made it possible to argue with myself that it wasn't all real. Being in here made it a choice to not accept. If I was forced to move, forced to participate in what they were telling me that was taking away my choice.

"Help me wrap this?" he asked breaking my quick reprieve of melancholy.

I shifted and took the bandage. He used one hand to hold it down as I circled his body once with it. Then both of his hands shot up in the air. I continued wrapping ignoring him for the most part until I felt his arms rest on my shoulders. I flinched, instinctively not being used to actual human contact. It was the first time any of them had willing touched me and without reason. But it wasn't uncomfortable and I had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with Chopper's 'detox' that he was trying to get me to do. I would have said he had alterative motives but there wasn't a blush on his cheeks when I glared at him, nor did he look embarrassed. Although either of those looks would have just been odd on him. He wasn't the type to get phased over small things like that. It must've just been annoying to hold his arms up so I shrugged it off and finished wrapping him stomach. His arms left my shoulders and it was odd but I kind of liked the weight of them there.

"You should get to bed," he told me. It was the first time he had ever kicked me out of his cot and again I tried not to feel hurt at his words. I could see the storm brewing in his eyes, the fault and blame he was carrying for a failed mission. It wasn't like I was in the mood to stay up all night and glare at the wall anyways. His silent company wasn't needed tonight and I could only imagine what Usopp had said to him in a temper tantrum. So I complied, hopping swiftly off the bed and towards my sleeping bag. I was surprised at how easily I was able to fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **_Just a few things... First, this is pretty dark but I'm going to keep the rating **T** unless forced to move it up. One Piece has mildly strong language and I'll be following suit. There will be a few 'f' bombs here and there but nothing too much, in fact at the most 4 or 5 times throughout the whole story. Second, there is A LOT of gore later on but not descriptive and there is a character that has been tortured. So please… I don't want a bunch of reviews asking me to change that when I get there. This story is going to be darker than my usual but I'll keep it pg13 :). So enjoy!_


	2. Chapter Two

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Two**

I woke to the soft whispering of the guys. They were obviously in a heated argument over something and didn't want to wake me. I didn't move from my spot, careful to keep my eyes closed as I strained my ears to hear the whispered debate.

"She's not safe yet. She still gets all frantic when they call to her," I believe that was Usopp. He sounded upset.

"She ignores them. She seeks me out. She is a vast improvement out of all the ones that we have managed to get out. She even was trying to protect Chopper the other day," Zoro was defending me.

"She isn't the same-"

"I know she isn't the same! She's different sure, but she's still there. She is still fighting. She hasn't had a single relapse and takes her medicine-" Zoro seemed to realize he was on the verge of yelling as his voice dipped dramatically and I could barely hear the rest of what he said, "She's still there."

I felt the uncomfortable tugging sensation in my chest and stomach at his words. The fact that he was on the same wave length with my thoughts that I have been so desperately trying to ignore, that I belong here but I don't at the same time.

"How do we know she wasn't going to attack Chopper?"

"He's the only one that has never pissed her off in some way," Zoro defended. I almost protested that but then thought better of it, instead waiting for the conversation to resume. Chopper really had never pissed me off. Not fully anyways.

"That isn't good enough!" Franky hissed. It was the first time I had ever heard him protest against me and it made my heart sink.

"We can't leave her. She'll get picked up again."

"If she is really the same Nami she wouldn't want the rest of us being jeopardized by her," Usopp said coldly.

"Fine I'll stay with her like always," Chopper's soft voice cut through the heated argument like ice.

"Like hell-"

"If you guys didn't already trust her or me you wouldn't leave us here when you went out for missions. She has been the same. She's even been asking me to play War…" he trailed off and he sounded so much older than a little kid. He sounded like a person that was forced into a rough life and was fighting for some normalcy.

"She's loved that game since she was a kid. It isn't something she has lost for a year," snapped Franky.

I felt my body stiffen at the words. A year? I was gone for a year? It was the first time they had ever hinted how long I had possibly been gone but I know I'm missing so much more than that. I'm missing important memories of the friendships I had with all of them. I struggled to get some memory of it all, I felt like a dim flash of recognition danced behind my eyes. The war, the shelter, the biological experiments, a flash of proclaiming war against the government. For a split second I remembered them, and I remembered that day. I remembered Robin and my heart nearly stopped again. Where was she now? Where was Brook? I didn't remember everything but it was a start. I remembered them, just not what_ happened_ with them. I shivered as I remembered a few random memories of my capture. I remember hearing the distant shrieks, the pleas, and moans. I remember people being turned into freaks of nature, and being excessively violent they were released from prison to hunt down wanted loved ones. The rotting flesh and desire to become a cannibal in some cases had led them to be called Zombies. In most other cases they were called Others. Other's were the same almost undead creatures, that had inhuman strength and quick speed, only they didn't eat flesh, and were much more intelligent. I had been an Other, but they had brought me back. Something that was supposed to be physically impossible, I could thank Chopper for that.

"She said his name in her sleep the other night," Zoro said harshly. "I know you heard it. She said his name and she said it with hatred. She knows…"

"She doesn't know. We could go out there and she could physically hand us over to them single handedly. She'll learn our location she'll learn everyone's location and we'll be royally fu-"

"We could just put a blind fold on her," Chopper said again his even tone was starting to show irritation. I wondered what would happen if he ever did get pissed off. Would he yell? Would he throw things? Would he do anything a kid his age would do?

"What about her superhuman strength?" Franky asked. His tone had gone back to calm. I was so tempted to glance back at them all. I was tempted to roll over open my eyes and join their discussion but this was something I needed to hear and it was something they needed to decide.

"She is losing it," came the frail voice of Luffy. He must've still been in bed and not included in this discussion as the words sounded more muffled than anyone else's.

"How do you know this Luffy? You were knocked out yesterday," Usopp half protested.

"Nami panics when there is blood. She ripped off my shirt but it didn't feel like there was a lot of force behind it. The medicine is working."

It is three against two. Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper all supported taking me with not leaving me for dead. But I was with the other two on this one. I was with Usopp and Franky. I didn't deserve to be saved. Not after everything I had put them through and not what I could possibly do. I felt my body quake with the realization that I wanted them to be safe before they tried taking me anywhere. If they left me I refuse to let myself get taken by the zombies. I was going to take my life first before it came to that. I refuse to go back to being a monster. I had enough of their conversation. I stood up quickly, ignoring my protesting limbs, and made my way over to them. Seven long steps were all that separated us.

I stopped before them and took a moment to study each of their faces. I could feel cold sweat starting to stick to the back of my neck but I knew what I was asking for. I had made up my mind.

"If you're going to leave me behind I'd like a weapon to defend myself," I said stiffly. I knew it wasn't for self-defense but I highly doubted the three that were so adamant on having me go with would take to my thought process. Hell, I wasn't sure if any of them would. I knew they had given up a lot for me, but it was unfair to have to lug me around at the expense of their safety. This was war. War needed decisions.

"We aren't leaving you," Luffy snapped. He seemed to gain some strength and was sitting up to glare at Usopp and Franky with a little more force than he had a few moments ago. They both had the decency to look bashful and Franky even gave me a sympathetic glance. Usopp still had hostility radiating off him.

"We have to get moving," Chopper said quickly before Usopp could further protest.

There were certain times during the day when it was safe for people to roam about. Well, it was never really safe. But it was really the best chance to get out and get back to base. It was like a constant game of capture the flag. Race across to the nearest safe house as quickly as possible, and every now and then you could steal a goodie and make it back in time without anyone noticing. They seemed to have figured out when the best times were to go out, but it was never a guarantee.

My nerves spiked as the others began bustling about preparing. They were taking everything valuable (which wasn't much) and either destroying it or packing it away. Franky seemed to want to keep everything. He had made most of the anti-zombie weapons everyone had but there was some useless stuff he kept trying to fit in his pack. Chopper was busy making sure he had enough of the antidote he was giving me squirrelled away in his backpack along with other medical supplies.

I was stuck. I sat on the edge of Zoro's bed feeling rather lost. I didn't have anything to pack, or that I treasured. I just had them. In that moment I felt rather lost. And suddenly I was extremely worried about the friend's I remembered that weren't there with us, but I knew now wasn't the time to ask about them. Now was the time for action. Still I couldn't help but ask one question.

"Is Sanji okay?" I found myself asking Chopper as he approached with a blindfold and a jacket. He didn't look nervous or weary of me today, and he had left his helmet tucked under his bed.

"He'll be fine. Ivan is watching over him and Robin too," he assured me. He handed me the jacket and I quickly shrugged it on. Since I had been an Other my skin was still sensitive to the sun (although that rarely deters real Others) I was still recovering.

Robin was watching Sanji. But she didn't have any medical training did she? Chopper did but it seemed like everyone tried to spar the kid as much as they could and only used him for medicine or very serious injuries. He used to protest when I first came back, but I think he realized it was best that he didn't stress over everything and everyone and focused on the grander picture. I wasn't even sure what the grander picture was. I just realized that this was the first time Robin had even been mentioned around me, and I didn't dumbly ask who she was. I saw Chopper's curious gaze and I shifted mine away to my lap. I didn't think now was the time to explain myself and how I was starting to remember things.

"Are you ready?" Zoro's gruff voice broke my thoughts.

I studied him for a moment. He was leaning against the railing of the bed and looking straight down at me, his arms folded and a typical scowl marred his features. His three swords hung loosely on his belt, and a gun was slung over his shoulder. I was slightly startled by the fact that I didn't even notice him approach me but I tried not to jump or show it. They still had trust issues with me and anything I did seemed to be like a target on my back.

"Of course," I snapped. One because I was irritated with him for sneaking up on me and two because I just didn't like the way he was looking at me.

Chopper hopped on the bed next to me. He hesitantly placed the blind fold around my eyes and I knew at once that Zoro was the one that grabbed my hand and steadied me.

"Do you trust me?" Zoro asked stiffly. He was asking if I wanted someone else to guide me, but it felt like there was something else he was asking. I felt like he was asking exactly what he had just said.

"Yes," I breathed out quietly. I wanted so badly to ask the same question. I wanted to know if he did as well. He might have defended me but he knew I was different. The only two that seemed to have complete faith in me were Luffy and Chopper.

"Good," he said.

With the slick fabric covering my eyes I couldn't see anything, but I did panic the second Zoro's warm calloused hand released mine. I almost opened my mouth to protest but I didn't. It felt like another test. So I stood there, rigid and waited. I heard Zoro shuffle beside me and a split second later he hosted me over his shoulder. I grunted. I was verrrrrrrry tempted to smack him upside the head but I didn't want them to bind my hands as well. He could have at least warned me. Instead, I bit my lip and dutifully wrapped my arms under his torso and tried to take some weight off him. Impossible, I know but he was still hurt. Stiches don't heal overnight. I know Zoro is too prideful to let something like that handicap him and I didn't want one of our best fighter's down for the count because of me.

Luffy was chuckling, and I can only imagine what this scene looked like. I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment. My ass hanging over Zoro's shoulder and trying to hold him in such an odd fashion with a blind fold covering my eyes. I must've looked ridiculous. But Luffy's laughter quieted down and then he was all business.

"We follow the path for a mile, and then hide until noon. I don't think there are any nests near the forest and Chopper was saying he needs to stock up on supplies. Stick together," Luffy hissed the last part and it sent a chill down my spine. It didn't sound natural to hear Luffy give out actual orders, or have a plan. It was a simple plan but a plan none the less. And hearing the word 'nests' brought a bubble of fear my stomach. Nests were where Zombies lurked, in the shadows, in abandoned buildings, and normally there were at least thirty of them in a group.

"We'll meet up with Robin at the school and from there she'll think of something for us."

Oh so this wasn't a plan, just a habit that they had seemed to develop. Still I couldn't shake the general dislike of hearing Luffy sound so serious when addressing everyone. It didn't fit the description of the boy in my head. I think Sanji getting hurt was really upsetting him. Hell, it was upsetting everyone. The mood among the group was very tight but maybe when we got to see him again things would lighten up. I sucked in a hard breath with a different and happier realization. Robin. I was going to see Robin! I hadn't seen another girl in who knows how long and my longtime friend was going to be somewhere waiting for me. Would she recognize me? I wasn't even sure if I looked the same. I just knew my hair was a lot longer than it had been. Would she be able to help me fill my holes in my memory? I shifted slightly and Zoro grunted lowly.

"Would you chill out? Stop acting like a nervous kitten," he snapped but he only said it lowly enough for me to hear.

A nervous kitten? Sometimes Zoro came up with the stupidest insults. I shifted again, partly to annoy him and partly because I remembered something about Zoro. I grinned and pressed my face into his back. It seemed like things were racing back to me this morning. I would have to tell Chopper when he gave me my medicine later. I wanted to blurt it out now, but I didn't want to stall them. It seemed like we were already running a little behind schedule.

Zoro tensed and a hush fell over the group. I felt myself tense in response to Zoro's body. His arm that was wrapped around my legs tightened ever so slightly, in what I could have sworn was a reassuring squeeze. There must've been a visual signal because suddenly without warning on my part, five pairs of footsteps were all I could hear. I felt the warm sun on my back and guessed it was later morning. The air was stagnant here. We were land locked. There was no comforting ocean breeze here, or means to escape and briefly I wondered how the hell a bunch of pirates wound up in this situation and where on earth were we that had so much land?

"We're pirates?" I half shrieked at the realization.

Zoro jolted to a stop and I heard several of the guns cock in an ominous click. Zoro's hand clamped down hard on my mouth and he shifted me so that I was fully in his arms. In one swift movement my blindfold was off, and I noticed that two or three guns were pointed in my general direction. I gulped and closed my eyes and waited. I could have blown their cover. They should have killed me for that. But the silence resumed and only the distance buzz of some bugs could be heard. Zoro's hand tilted my face and I really had no choice but to open my eyes again. He put me on the ground and slowly let go of my face. He then motioned for my silence and then grabbed my hand and starting pulling me along. We were in the front of the group and leading them. I wanted to snort at that but I refrained. Zoro shouldn't be leading them anywhere.

At noon we stopped near the edge of the forest and took refuge in the ruble of a collapsed building.

"Oy Nami!" Luffy laughed and came springing up to my side. "You remember!" he shouted loudly. His rubbery arms stretched and wrapped around me. I panicked, remembering that Luffy was never really careful about where he flung us when he wrapped his arms around me. He just laughed and hugged me tightly to his chest. I stiffened even more.

"I uh…"

"Welcome back Sis," Franky said, lowering his sunglasses and giving me a signature smirk.

"I knew it Nami!" Chopper squeaked excitedly. "I knew you were remembering! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't remember everything. Just some things!"

My voice climbed a few octaves as I pushed myself away from Luffy. That didn't seem like me. Normally I was fine with my friend's random touches. Usopp surprisingly hit Luffy really hard upside the head.

"You dumbass," he hissed. "You can't just hug Nami anymore. Not after Arlong-"

I think I might have been dehydrated or something because I promptly passed out. Or it might have been the fact that I was now overloaded with memories flooding back to me. This morning was nothing. I remembered everything. I remembered all of our adventures and I remembered how we got into this mess.

War.

It was like my favorite card game. A split group of cards filled with aces and trump cards but pure chance of who won. I always cheated at that game. I always strategized and planned ahead. I evenly placed my strongest cards in such a way that would trump my opponents random shuffling. In fact, I had never lost a game of War. It was luck, stealth, and a quickness to make a decision (since I cheated and stashed away all my strongest cards). It suited me perfectly. It suited a thief.

I remembered now. The War we proclaimed. How we had to meet Luffy's father in the New World to pick up tactics. How I was asked to help them steal this item from the government. How I was captured…

I'm not sure exactly what I was asked to steal. I was just given a general description of it and where it was located. Of course I wasn't alone in this. The Revolutionary Dragon was cashing in all his cards with this one and found it best to send Vivi with me and Robin. Vivi who was trained to be a double agent and was one of my closest friends before Robin came into my life. I had been so excited by the news I couldn't turn it down. I didn't even notice Robin's general discomfort with the whole situation. Sure she harbored no hard feelings for the Princess but she had helped one of our greatest foes take over her country. Surprisingly Vivi didn't really care. She was a little weary but that was all.

Vivi was transporting us to a group of government officials on one of the larger main lands in the new world. Supposedly she found us in her country and wasn't sure what to do with us since our bounty's were so high. Robin and I both had a set of keys stashed in our bras for easy escape once we got to the main land and Robin's cuffs were conveniently _not made_ of Sea Stone. Everything went smoothly up to that point. Vivi handed us off and went back 'home' but in this case she went to the base to wait for our arrival and to make sure nothing happened. If something did happen she would call back up. Just a few miles out the rest of the Straw Hats were waiting to come to our rescue, or storm the place for a distraction. Either one would work.

At the time I didn't know about the Governments experiments. I didn't know I was sneaking into a lab and stealing equipment that would help the rebels defeat this plan. I didn't know anything… but I figured it out pretty quickly.

They were doing experiments on Fish Men to see the effects. We passed several cells filled with their rotting bodies before we escaped from them. I heard the guards leading us talking carelessly about it. How the ones that survived were deemed Zombies because they craved either human or Fish men flesh and how they couldn't speak anything but broken one word sentences. They were freakishly strong and apparently a few guards had died because they ventured too close to the slots to feed the prisoners.

It made me sick and I could tell Robin was fighting to not show her disgust as well. As soon as we knocked out our guards we started setting all the Fish men, that hadn't been tested on, free. It was going smoothly at first, until of course we ran into a bunch of guards.

I failed as a thief that day. I didn't even get what Dragon wanted. I managed to push Robin into an air duct with a few escapees and a stack of papers that had 'IMPORTANT' stamped across the top. After that…

After that…

I can't remember. I just remember seeing someone familiar. Someone I hate. Arlong.

I jolted awake and noticed that the sun was setting. The first thing I felt was cloth, it must've been hastily shoved into my mouth and I spit it out with disdain. I really hoped I hadn't been shouting in my sleep. My movement immediately attracted the attention of my group. I was swarmed again.

Chopper's steady voice was the only one that really reached out to me.

"Take this," he said quietly as he handed me a single pill and a bottle of water. I greedily popped the pill and downed the whole bottle. Panting I sat up, folding my knees up to rest my chin on top of them. I realized then that I hadn't been the one watching Chopper he had been the one watching me the whole time since my awakening. Chopper was in charge of me, not the other wa around.

"Sorry," I managed to get out as I looked around me. No one seemed to mind. In fact I was surrounded by relieved faces. Zoro seemed disgruntled and a little pissed but that wasn't too far off from normal.

"You feeling better?" he asked when our gazes met. I nodded, something odd flickering through me at his look.

"I just remembered some things…" I told them. I shifted my gaze from his a bit too quickly. "I remembered a lot of things actually."

Yes I knew them. One hundred percent and without a doubt I knew them, and I loved them too. I remembered a lot of our adventures but a few things were still hazy about them. For instance, I knew Luffy's birthday and Chopper's favorite color but I couldn't quiet recall when I met either of them. But it felt like something even more important was just beneath the surface and I wanted to grasp it so badly but I couldn't remember. It was infuriating. This whole time I have been back, not once did not having my memory bother me.

"We can talk about this later. What are we going to do now?" Usopp hissed from his place as lookout.

I let them chat. I couldn't help but study Luffy a little bit. He was different. He was more serious. He had been after the first time we took a two year break, but back then it was everyone. Back then we all had been trying to become stronger for Luffy. And as nervous as I had been about reuniting with them the first time Luffy had been practically the same. Sure he changed, but that was to be expected.

I couldn't help but wonder what was different now. I had lost another year with my friends. Three years total. My heart ached dully in my chest. There was some piece I was missing in all of this.

"Right," Luffy said firmly. His hands smacked together firmly drawing my attention out of my thoughts. "We'll just have to camp out tonight."

Usopp hissed immediately pissed off. I don't really remember Usopp being so… angry and I can't recall anything to have made him this way. Franky sighed.

"You can make a quick, sturdy shelter right?" Zoro asked the half robot.

"Of course. Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" he snapped. Normally this would be the moment where he struck a stupid ridiculous pose and jumped into song about how Suuuuuuupppper he was. There was none of that while we were exposed. Not when we just had a few crumbled walls to hide us from the creatures that lurked in the night and the sun quickly disappearing behind the horizon.

Without another word Franky immediately set to work. He wasn't quiet about it, with every pound he made, the rest of us cringed and looked around nervously. Would we survive the night? I remember Luffy and Zoro being freakishly strong. Did they lose their confidence? Were these monsters that terrifying? I shivered and sat on a rock watching the sun sink lower and lower.

Usopp sat next to me and jolted me out of my thoughts.

I remember him being one of my closest friends. We were the group chickens. What had happened that made him so angry? What had I done?

Without a word he shoved three sticks into my hands. I remembered my old weapon. It was like ingrained into me as part of me, and I remembered that Usopp had been the one to originally design it for me. I hugged it to my chest tightly feeling comfort with the cool metal and hoping that this was a sign that things would go back to being more relaxed with us.

"You might need that tonight," he said. His voice was tight and he refused to look at me.

I knew at once that something was off between us still, but still the gesture touched me. I felt the desire to fling my arms around him in a hug but my body froze and began to break out in a cold sweat at the thought. I rubbed my arm self-consciously.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

I knew he was studying me but I kept my eyes locked on the horizon. I gritted my teeth and fought a blush. I didn't want a confrontation with Usopp but it seemed like it might be unavoidable. And suddenly and without reason I was angry at _him_. I was just about to tear into him. I was about to yell and demand why the hell he was treating me so stiffly and so unlike himself.

I really was about to. But then the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the night around us instantly became alive with noises. Horrible wailing and screeches filled the night. Far off thankfully but still it was unnerving. I found that I had put the three sticks together and made a smooth staff. It felt right in my hands.

"We better head in," Franky said.

I looked over my shoulder and noticed that all of them were watching us wearily. All of them were watching me. I swallowed my breath and nodded and rushed into the tiny bunker.

* * *

**A/N: **_So at the top of each chapter I'll have warnings for gore or language if it even applies. This chapter it didn't. Also... I haven't watched Walking Dead. xD. Any references are purely on accident in this case I can assure you. Although now I might go watch it... is it a T.V show or a movie? You guys are awesome! Thank you for all the reviews. Zombies really aren't my thing so I'm even surprised I'm doing this hahaha. _


	3. Chapter Three

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Three**

The bunker was much tighter and more enclosed than the last one. For one thing, I couldn't even claim a corner and sleep as far from everyone as possible. There was just enough room for everyone to lie down next to each other and rest. I really wondered how the hell Franky managed to find enough metal to make a makeshift bunker but I knew better than to ask. It was Franky, and that was his talent.

Everyone began to pull out sleeping bags and arrange themselves for night. I just kind of stood there dumbly and wondered how they managed to carry all of that stuff. It didn't seem like everyone had been carrying much… Where was I going to sleep? I doubted I would be able to get much tonight but still, I wish I had thought to pack something earlier when we had left our shelter.

I broke out in a cold sweat when it finally dawned on me that someone was more than likely going to be touching me all night. I flinched and crossed my arms over my chest. I really didn't like being touched anymore. It was unnerving and always made me nervous. My throat constricted as a wail sounded closer than before. I felt like the walls were going to cave in and I tried to control my breathing but my head began to spin and my legs started to shake.

Zoro seemed to notice my mini panic attack. He gave me a weird look as he unzipped an extra sleeping bag and laid it down next to his. He patted the ground ever so discreetly next to him and I practically dove to my newfound cover. I wrapped the blanket tightly around myself and buried my face in my hands. My stomach was pressed against the ground and ruble uncomfortably but I didn't care. I just focused on trying to control my erratic breathing. I would be fine. These people were my friends. They would never let anything happen to me…

Somehow I wound up between my captain and Zoro. I could have cried I was so relieved. At least I was sleeping between the two people I trusted most on this crew. I knew that they were my oldest friends but there seemed to be something extra with the two of them. They still treated me like Nami from before we got into this mess.

Usopp had a lantern lit up as he; Franky, Luffy and Chopper were busy trying to play a few rounds of cards. Normally, I would have joined them. Normally I wasn't stressed out and having flashes of random memories of them coming back to me. Zoro was sitting next to me lazily watching the others with hooded eyes as he leaned back against the wall. Across his legs were his swords and he had one out of its sheath and sharping it. The sound should have been making me even more nervous was oddly comforting. The others laughing quietly in the background with each other, and the sound of Zoro sharping his blade combined sounded familiar. I would have drifted off to sleep but Zoro suddenly stopped what he was doing. As if it was a silent signal without words the others did as well.

My heart thundered loudly in my chest. I clenched my staff tighter to my chest trying to get some comfort in the fact that I wasn't defenseless anymore.

I strained my ears unable to hear what had caused the sudden silence in the group. It took me a moment but I heard the sound of bombs being dropped. The faint boom and the rolling thunder it gave off reached my ears. The ground began to shake slightly.

"Turn the light off," Zoro barked sternly. Usopp complied and immediately we were submerged in darkness.

I would have started screaming. The terror that the total darkness brought with it consumed me in a second. Horrible images filled my mind. The days of my captivity came rushing back like a tidal wave, completely unforgiving and destructible. The days where on a good day I found that the others horrible screams meant I would be spared. Imagines of bloody floor, of the painful whips, of the cold unforgiving ground, all spiraled chaotically inside me. I could taste the bile that was threating to spill out of me.

All that would have happened. I would have screamed and thrown up if a strong warm hand hadn't clamped down firmly over my mouth and drew me to a strong broad chest when it did.

I knew immediately that it was Zoro, and I knew that pretending I was okay was a farce. With the lights out and no one being able to see me, I was surprised that my reaction was to turn and press myself closer to him. His hand left my mouth as I buried my face into his shirt and tried to take deep calmly breaths. I was again surprised with the fact that when his arms went around me I didn't panic. I didn't feel trapped or like I was being strangled. I could tell he was trying to be gentle. His hugs were normally a lot firmer, like he was trying to make sure I could never leave his arms. This hug felt like he was trying to make sure I didn't break in half and his arms were loose around me. I wanted to tell him to hold me tight, but I didn't want the others to hear.

I wanted to know why this hug felt so different, and I wanted to know why I could even tell there was a difference. It must've been another thing my memory blocked that I just hadn't remembered yet.

Chopper has a theory that I intentionally blocked them from my memory to keep myself from hunting them. The World Government's experiment was to see the effects of their drug. More than half of the people they tested on died, and came back to life if they ate another human beings flesh. A smaller percentage didn't die, but still hunted down others. Which is where they got their name. Others were ones that hunted both zombies and humans but were still somehow controlled by the government. Doctor Vegapunk could be thanked for this mess. The chip he implants counteracts the drug ever so slightly and creates these Others. Because Others don't die like the zombies do. They are something beyond… something more, and I was one of them. Or at least I had been. The chip that Vegapunk implants goes through an Others memories and helps hunt down loved ones to be turned into the government. I think Chopper might be right. I think I did somehow manage to forget them to protect them from this fate. I just can't remember how I did any of it. I'm not all that curious though. When I try to remember what happened to me disgusting images of torture pop up.

"Are you okay Nami?"

It was Luffy that asked and when his soft voice cut through the darkness Zoro gave me a reassuring squeeze. I nodded, and then I realized he couldn't see the gesture.

"Yes," I said curtly trying hard not to sound like I was gasping for air. I think I failed in that.

My face flushed with embarrassment. Of course Luff knew. They all did. I can only imagine what I have said in my sleep or what they remember in their daring rescue to retrieve me. They knew I was in a fragile state, but they let me pretend that I was fine. They gave me that cushion to act however I wanted and they weren't making me face anything too big or too drastic. They knew what I gave up to save them. I strangled a sob and pressed my face closer to Zoro's chest. Tears seemed to spring unwanted from my eyes.

His hand rested on the back of my head and began stroking me in a soothing pattern. With each swipe of his hand I felt a little more strength flood into me, a little more courage. I managed to stop my mini break down with a few more calming breaths. I just wanted to stay in Zoro's arms for the rest of the night. I haven't cried in a really long time. It felt good, even if it was just a sort reprieve. Gently I pushed myself off so that I could lean against him instead of being pressed up against him. His arms almost didn't let me go for a moment before they slipped away from around my waist and again I was filled with this sense of loss from the weight not being there anymore.

In the distance the sounds of gunshots and bombs could still be heard. They were getting further and further away from us, not that they had been that close to begin with.

"Do you think Robin set that up?" Usopp asked quietly.

It seemed like something Robin would do. We obviously didn't make it to the meeting place in time and without a doubt she was probably worried. She probably spurred the revolutionaries to act up for us to give us a distraction. It didn't seem unlikely. The wailing of the zombies and the Others had stopped all together within our hearing range. Actually it seemed exactly like something she would do and almost instantly there was a lump in my throat and I tried to swallow it down. This was my fault. I made them late and they were humoring me… for who knows how many times now.

Now here is the odd part. I don't think it's possible to hear a frown, but with Luffy it was just that. I could hear him frowning from where I was sitting. I think he might have shifted because when he spoke he was a little closer to where I was.

"We need to go help."

I knew that wasn't including me. That meant they were all leaving and they were all going to go help. I gritted my teeth and tried not to hiss. I didn't want to be left behind… again. And I didn't want them to have to babysit me. Luffy was asking what I wanted to do; it was probably an old habit he had never forgotten. He always checked with the navigator first. But he wasn't really checking, he was telling me what they were going to do, and it almost sounded like an invite to what I used to be a part of. My heart lodged in my throat.

"Let's go then," I said standing. In the pitch black I had to press my hand against the wall from falling over as, all at once, everyone seemed to stand at the same time.

The whole hiding in a shelter and not taking a lot of action had been for me. All the soft words, all the tender reassurance, all that time wasted. They had done that for me. We Straw Hats weren't ones for lying down low when there was action to be had, not with a captain like ours leading us. Not with such a crew filled with wonderful hearts. I let the tears fall freely from my eyes. They truly were my friends, and had been all along. I wish I hadn't forgotten a single thing.

Luffy's chuckle grew louder next to me, as if I broke the spell or the need to be quiet.

"Let's do this!" he shouted.

He flung the door open and before I had time to react his rubbery hand shot around mine and was dragging me out the door.

It wasn't really dark out. The sky seemed to be thick with this greenish gas that made the normal dark blue sky seemed to shimmer. All the stars seemed to hide behind the misty fog. The moon was full and everything was filled with a blue light. A few clouds glowed an almost green color. It might have been a side effect of me being an Other. I really have no clue. I wasn't about to complain though. I just started running.

I could hear four pairs of feet running behind me. A familiar sense of power wielded up inside me, something that I thought I had lost. They would listen to me, they trusted me. Luffy was running next to me, a familiar grin spread on his face as he cast me a sidewise glance. My mind was racing, flashes of important information coming to me, and I began planning.

"We split up when we get there. Usopp, Franky, and Chopper need to take the back. You and Zoro ambush whatever is in front. It'll be Others… If you-"

"We know how to knock them out without killing them," he assured me interrupting before the words even left my lips. I nodded my brows scrunching together in thought. Well then we could save a lot of people, we just had to reenact whatever Chopper had done for me. I don't remember up until I was 'awakened', but that wasn't a priority now.

"I'll head to the middle and search for Robin. We'll meet at the school," I finished. I wasn't sure where the school was but I was pretty sure I could find Robin and she would know. I knew her battling tactics. I was sure I'd be able to find her in with in a battle.

We stopped running in the same instant. Both Luffy and I could feel the anger behind us.

"You are not going in there alone," Zoro hissed. He was at my side glaring down at me before I could even turn around to face the rest of the group.

"You and Luffy are forward fighters. We need you up front. Usopp is great back up, and Franky and Chopper can make traps. I sneak around. It's what I do," I snapped. I don't know why I was so angry all of a sudden. I just was. I could feel the emotion bubbling to a boiling point in the pit of my stomach and rolling to my fingertips. I was tempted to punch something, and that something was likely to be the back of Zoro's head soon.

He jaw clenched and he looked ready to bite my head off. He was so close to me, but I didn't feel uneasy or scared. I just wanted him to know I wasn't useless anymore. Was it that hard to believe that a couple of hours brought the old me back? Well I guess that question answered everything itself.

"Zoro's right. Last time we left you alone, we failed you. We didn't get to you in time," Chopper spoke up.

That caught my attention.

It wasn't that they didn't trust me. They didn't trust themselves to part from me, especially now that I was all messed up but on the road to being the Nami they remembered. For a second I thought tears were going to spill down again but I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Chopper, you are coming with me then," I said trying to sound annoyed, I peeked out from under my lids and glared at Zoro. I'd humor them for now. I didn't want to get into a fight right now. And since Chopper had been monitoring me so closely he would be able to keep me safe, it was my best option at the moment. That seemed to calm Zoro down slightly but he still looked hesitant, and very annoyed.

He took a step closer and I flinched.

I don't know why I did it. After all this time Zoro and Luffy have been the two I'm most comfortable with. Zoro's eyes hardened as he pressed something into my hand.

"Anything goes wrong… and I mean anything. You light that up. Understood?"

I glanced down taking in the cylinder shape and the red packaging. It was a flare. I nodded and pressed it into my chest unzipping my jacket so I could shove it down my cleavage. I winked at him as I did so, feeling confident. Remembering who you were was a major step in confidence. But despite my wink I was very self-conscious of the fact that his eyes followed my hands down my shirt.

He was still incredibly close, almost too close for comfort. I wanted to take a step back but some prideful challenge seemed to swell up inside of me as I looked up at him. He only had a couple of inches on me but still the height was more drastic with the fact that I was wearing sneakers and not my normal high heels. I glared up at him, and he smirked and quirked a brow. I heard Usopp cough behind him and I blushed. I had completely forgotten that the others were there, that was very unlike me.

"Stay safe," he muttered lowly and strode past me his hand fell lightly on my hand and gave me a reassuring squeeze, it was a split second and could easily be missed. At this point I was starting to wonder if it was really for my detox or if I was missing something big between me and the swordsman.

There was a thunderous boom and several loud shouts and angry curses just beyond the hill we were standing behind. I guess I had miscalculated where the action was. I had just been running in the general direction of chaos. Just over the hill there was another roaring blast and several loud shouts and shrieks filled the air. I jumped slightly shocked as the Luffy tugged me aside from the others. In the sharp lights of explosions and shouting it seemed surreal. I tried taking a deep and steadying breath.

"Nami," he said seriously calling my attention away from the background. He was frowning, the brim of his hat lowered to hide his eyes from me. "Stay with Chopper no matter what," he said and then he was off with a loud whoop and following Zoro into the fray.

That was a direct order from my captain, the first one I had received in a long time. I felt my heart swell and those stupid tears sting my eyes again. I blinked them away and was forced to yet again focus on my breathing to keep them in check.

When you're ready to jump into a fight you can't have things like tears filling your vision. Emotionally I just wanted to go back to that tiny bunker and not leave Zoro's arms… but physically that opportunity was long gone.

"Alright Chopper," I paused looking down at the reindeer. "Let's go."

I didn't look back at Franky or Usopp. Usopp was already busy climbing a tree on top of the hill and firing on the enemy anyways. I could hear his shouts of joy when he clobbered someone. I started running, the hill taking a lot out of me as I rounded my way to the top. Chopper in walking point next to me was only a few inches shorter. If I wanted I could have easily rode him. I paused on top of the hill, taking in the scene before me.

It made my stomach roll uncomfortably and threated to upheave whatever I had eaten earlier. The misty gas that covered everything wasn't green here but an orange haze, as fires were spread throughout the field and it took on the color of the fire. The stench of rotting and burning flesh filled my nose as I tried not to gag. Blood tainted the air as well, and it was so thick I could have sworn it was in the mist and trying to choke me. Fighting was breaking out, there only seemed to be a couple of Others, who were much more of a threat than the slow moving zombies. Zoro was locked in battle with two of them. His blades furiously swiping and blocking in such a blinding speed it was impossible to follow. Luffy was nowhere to be found. His shouts of anger filled the air occasionally but I couldn't see him. Robin was likely to be in the center. As quiet as she was, she liked to be in the midst of things. Silently taking action in the throb of chaos was something Robin thrived at. And she was easy to spot. In the middle of the field, right in the heart of all the fighting, giant legs had sprouted out of the ground and were stomping with (some) discrimination on the floor. The earth quaked, as several cannons were shot into the crowd of zombies. Revolutionaries were screaming loudly, but they were winning. The zombies were being pushed back slowly but it was obvious that they were starting to retreat.

I didn't wait to say anything to Chopper. I just started running, right into the heart of things. I knew this wasn't like me, that I liked to stick to the outside away from all the fighting. I knew I was normally targeted and infuriatingly enough I was referred to as the Straw Hat's weakness. I am not weak. I'm still not weak. I just get scared easily.

Chopper's clomping run could be heard just barely behind me, as I dodged a zombie and hit it hard upside the head. I shivered as a sickening crunching noise was heard, and the thing fell to the ground with a loud thump. I didn't have time to stop though, I had to keep running. I almost wanted to close my eyes and run blindly while hoping for the best. This new horrific battlefield would be sure to give me nightmares later on. But I couldn't, fighting the urge to throw up, I had to remind myself that they were already dead, there was no hope for them. Still I tried to stay out of the way of most of the fighting and I only got help up by a few zombies.

It seemed like hours until finally I was able to push through the throng of rebels to find Robin standing there in the midst of all this. She was almost on the front line but not quiet there, and she was half encircled by some able bodied looking men with swords. She looked exactly the same as the last time I had seen her, long black flowing hair falling just above her waist, ample chest, revealing outfit. I was struck with a small pit of jealousy. I always admired Robin, and I knew deep down that if Luffy hadn't found me when he did I would have turned out a lot like the darker woman. Still, in the midst of battle she looked put together. I haven't even seen my own reflection in who knows how long. Not since I've been awakened at least. My hair was probably oily and was thrown in a loose ponytail; I was wearing a dirty jacket, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. I wasn't nearly as sexy as my friend, and for that split second I was jealous.

I got over it immediately. Excitement boiled over and filled my entire body to the point where I quaked. I jumped once and waved frantically before I noticed that she still hadn't seen me. Chopper tugged nervously on my sleeve.

"ROBIN!"

The excited scream came out from me and before I could even stop myself I was running to the older woman. Chopper squeaked and I could hear him trying to deter me. He was saying something sternly but it was lost on my deaf ears. He tried to grab my jacket and hold me back but I slipped out of it easily. I didn't even notice the cold wind on my skin as I was now underdressed and only in a tank top. Chopper lunged for me and called out again but I didn't listen. I pushed through the group of male body guards, just as Robin whipped around to face me.

Her face was hard, and her eyes widened in shock. For a split second I thought I saw fear in her eyes before they narrowed.

Two hands sprung out from my neck and wrapped around my throat.

"Robin, NO!" Chopper roared.

I was on the ground writhing and struggling to breathe as my wind pipe felt like it had almost been crushed by the two slender hands. They were still wrapped around my neck firmly but they weren't squeezing anymore. I couldn't contain the bile that escaped me. I pushed myself up, kneeling, and trying to get a grip on my body. It took a full minute before I was reduced to just panting. I crawled to the side to escape the smell of puke, and wiped the corners of my mouth with the back of my shaking hands. I panted hard and rubbed my throat as the hands disappeared with a fluttering pop.

"Sorry about that Nami. Last time I saw you, you tried to kill me," Robin said evenly. She was standing over me and offering me a hand up. Her smile was sweet and genuine. I accepted her hand and pulled myself up.

She was still a few inches taller than me. Chopper was beside her looking stern and trying to inspect my neck without touching me. He wordlessly handed me a bottle of water from his pack, which I greedily accepted and chugged down. I coughed once, before taking a breath to steady myself. Robin was still smiling at me, her face reflecting exactly what I was feeling inside.

Even after she had just tried to strangle me, I couldn't help but lunge into her arms and pull her into a tight hug. I was so happy. I had missed her so much, and I hadn't even realized why until earlier today. We pulled apart quickly but not because everyone around us was fighting, but because we had a lot to catch up on.

"How's Sanji?" I asked as I leapt beside her to strike one of the few reaming zombies.

"He's recovering. We had to knock him out to leave earlier but he is being monitored," Robin told me, a shy grin on her face. "He's been asking about you non-stop and wondering if his disappearance has affected you at all."

I wanted to roll my eyes but I just sighed. I missed Sanji, but not in the perverted way he was thinking. I missed him because now that he was gone, I knew that he was treating me the same way Luffy and Zoro had been, the same as before.

"If anything I've had less of a headache," I mumbled. It was mostly to myself but Robin still caught it and chuckled. My next question I was scared to ask, but it was urgent and had been on my mind as constantly as reuniting with Robin.

"Where's Brook?"

In response Robin only gave me a signature smirk. I felt slightly relieved, knowing that he was at least okay made me feel better, but now my curiosity was spiked tenfold. Robin couldn't answer that question in the middle of the battlefield because someone might overhear her telling me something that obviously wasn't common knowledge. What could Brook be doing that was so important?

"How did I almost kill you? Last time I saw you I was shoving you in an air shaft back at-"

"Do you not remember?" she asked cutting me off. I shook my head.

"Oh… I'll have to tell you that later," she was chuckling. I took that as a good sign. I think that trying to kill a friend was unforgiveable, but I had attempted it… but I couldn't remember. It felt like I that was this monster with an alter ego that I was desperately trying to piece together. I didn't have time to at the moment, but soon I would have to really focus and try and drag out some memories.

It seemed like hours but finally the fighting ceased. The zombies had effectively been pushed back, or called back. The night felt eerily quiet, as I stood there with Robin and Chopper waiting for the others to approach. Several rebels were competing for Robin's attention and chatting quietly with one another.

Usopp and Franky were the first to arrive, and I was very surprised to see the robot run up and hug Robin tightly to his chest. How long have we all been separated? From the sound of things Robin was almost in constant contact with everyone. I shrugged it off, and waited impatiently. Surely Zoro and Luffy would come back to the center of the field. They wouldn't run off into the night to try and find a school. Both were directionally challenged and who knows where they would end up if they ran off by themselves. I craned my neck searching for my captain and the swordsman.

Luffy's laughter could be heard as he came strolling out of some of the midst. Sometimes my captain gave me the creeps. His laughter wasn't always timed well.

"Where's Zoro?" he asked as he finally came to my side and looking around to see everyone.

"I think he found Brook," Robin answered calmly before I could say anything.

Luffy just nodded. "Well they'll meet up with us at the regular time then," Franky piped up.

I fidgeted. I wanted to know what the regular time was, and where it was at. I couldn't ask that though. Not when we were surrounded by revolutionaries and slowly being whisked away off the field before we even noticed it. Robin kept sending me curious glances, as the others caught up and chatted about their experiences.

It had been a long night. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sit down and take a nice long nap until morning. I yawned loudly.

"It seems the effects of the government's drug is wearing off, Nami," Robin said conversationally next to me. I nodded.

"Chopper has been giving me some type of pill that seems to be helping."

"I think it is. Your eyes are almost the same color again," Robin said thoughtfully. "Although the ice blue eyes and half dead look did look good on you."

She was teasing me. I grinned at her feeling suddenly grateful that Robin was treating me just the same as always, just like everyone else had been in their own way.

"Sorry about trying to kill you? I don't really remember much…" I said lamely. Despite her obvious pleasure about seeing me again I felt like I could feel the strain in the air between us.

"As long as you're back now. I think that is all that matters," she assured me.

Our small conversation had distracted me so thoroughly that suddenly we were inside a building and Robin was leading me away from the others. I almost protested. I wanted to wait for Zoro, but the heavy feeling behind my eyes wouldn't leave and my legs were lifting sluggishly. So I let her lead me around a corner and through a door with two clean cots on either side.

"It'll be nice sharing a room with another girl," I grumbled as I didn't wait for her to gesture a bed for me to take. I just sleepily stumbled to the closest one and promptly passed out. I think Robin might have even tucked me in with a breezy chuckle and a soft kiss to my forehead.

* * *

**A/N: **_I changed the name of the story! Did that throw anybody off? I was writing chapter 6 and I realized that the title didn't fit very well. Props to _Annoymous Being_ for giving me the idea for this title awhile ago. She rocks, and while I'm talking about her you should check out her story _Seven Days_. It's a good read, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her beta :p. Anyways no complaints for this chapter. I found it really easy to write. I just made you guys suffer and waited a bit before posting. That's mostly because I'm trying to write ahead before I post so I can make this story a well oiled unbeta'ed machine. I want to triple check my work at least 8 times. ;). Which I have basically been doing. I'll stop ranting now. See you next chapter. _


	4. Chapter Four

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Four**

I woke up with a splitting head ache. It pulsed rapidly behind my shut tightly lids and even the faint light creeping out from under the door was hurting my eyes. I groaned and shoved a pillow over my head, trying to block the light. My skull felt like it was splitting open and it was making sure to do it as slowly as possible. The light seemed to seep out from under my pillow. I growled again and rolled on to my stomach. My arms protested and shook violently but still complied. I tried to remember why I felt so weak but the headache seemed to press a heavy fog against my mind.

I rolled back to my back and glared at the ceiling. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in annoyance (and in pain); because I knew I wasn't going to be getting back to sleep.

Suddenly there was water being shoved into my hand and a small round pill. Almost without thought I popped the pill and chugged a decent amount of water. I heard the light laughter across the room and it all came rushing back to me. I was with Robin and the fight last night…

I drank the rest of the water and rolled to sit up. I was surprised at how easily I could see in the dark. Since I had started taking the medicine my eyes were becoming less efficient in the darkness and my sleeping pattern had started to move back to a normal schedule. In the corner next to Robin's bed someone was sitting on a chair.

I could have recognized him by the way he was snoring. The soft green hair, and hunched frame was enough to alert me to who it was. I felt myself sigh in relief.

"He barged in here a few hours ago," Robin said softly. She was by my side, and I wondered how the dark woman could move so quietly to escape my notice. Even when I was more human like, my senses have always been sharper. She sat lightly on the end of my bed and I could practically feel her eyes boring into me searching for something.

"I thought he was out with Brook?" I whispered quietly back. Judging by her tone she was trying to figure something out, and I wasn't one to hide something from Robin. The older woman was like my sister, and if she wanted to know something it was simply for my benefit or welfare so she could help me.

She nodded once, her gaze not dropping from mine.

"Brook is following an Other. He seems to be the only one that can do so without detection," she told me.

It took me a second to process the information. I felt myself shake slightly in fear for my friend. I tried to calm myself but I knew without a doubt that there was something much more to this. This was tied directly to me.

"Who is it?"

I had whispered it without even thinking. I wanted to know who it was and why it is such a big deal, why I can feel it down in the pit of my stomach.

"WHO is it?" I said a bit louder when Robin still hadn't answered me.

"It's your sister," Zoro said gruffly from his corner. His deep voice cut through the darkness like one of his blades.

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind. Why her? What had happened that she got involved with that? Who had caught her? My stomach sank even lower with the realization that I might have been the one to cash in my sister to the government. I would have thrown up but my stomach was empty from the night before. The water I had drunk threatened to climb but I swallowed it down quickly. I had forgotten my friends to protect them but not my sister? What the hell was wrong with me? Where were my priorities?

"Arlong caught her after he found out that we managed to get you back," Robin said quietly.

There was that name again, and instead of the information calming me down that I hadn't been the one to turn my sister in I felt my blood starting to boil. Why was it that Arlong had come back into my life? What made him come into the picture? I had so many questions but I wasn't even sure where to begin.

"Where is Brook now?" I asked settling on one after a moment.

My voice shook with anger but I was surprised at how collected I sounded.

"Out," Zoro barked in a bored tone.

He seemed to shift in his seat and he was studying me as discreetly as he could with his chin still resting on his chest. I could see him clearly in the darkness and it wasn't discreet at all. His eye was trained and watching me with a weariness I hadn't seen in a long time and his arms were crossed, waiting. It was like he was waiting for me to blow up and I didn't feel like holding back anymore. I didn't feel like playing nice and trying to get their trust back. This wasn't about what I wanted them to think anymore. If I sat there and tried to pretend I was okay after all of this then I was just hiding behind a mask. I had no clue who I really was anymore, but I'd be damned if I didn't try to find out. And that meant just following my instincts.

"OUT? That's all you can say you big brute?" I hissed.

"You sound like Sanji. Is that the best insult you can come up with?"

For a moment I couldn't respond. I was on my feet shaking and standing over him and I was sure I had murder in my eyes. I couldn't come up with a response but I had to get him to see why I had to know.

"It's my sister! I want to help!"

"You can't," he said curtly glaring up at me.

"And why not?"

"Zoro," Robin said stiffly interrupting any response I might have gotten. He sighed and shifted slightly avoiding her gaze. I glanced between the two of them and for some unexplainable reason I felt hurt. Why was it that Zoro listened to her?

"Goth woman," he said evenly his gaze not leaving mine as he addressed Robin.

It seemed like an unspoken agreement was made or some type of understanding was reached before Robin sighed.

"I'm going to get breakfast. I'm sure you two would like some alone time," she started. She strode to the door and paused looking over her shoulder at me.

"Why would we want alone time?" I growled but I was ignored as Robin snapped the door shut behind her with a gentle click.

Zoro shrugged and suddenly he looked very uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat to sit up straighter and crossed his ankle over his knee. His hands shot nervously into his hair before crossing over his chest again.

"Look I know you don't trust me-"

"Damn straight I don't," he growled interrupting my attempt to start a conversation.

"Don't interrupt," I hissed hitting him upside the head. I was surprised at how violent I was becoming but it didn't feel like I was forcing this. It felt like an old habit that was starting to surface again. Zoro even smirked up at me like he remembered this. I had to close my eyes to restrain from hitting him again.

"Look I know-"

"Do you?" he asked interrupting me again. I glared at him. Maybe I didn't know but I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him any of that. My hand itched to raise and hit him again. I took a deep breath.

"Zoro… please."

My legs felt weak and I hated how dumb I sounded. I had to explain to him. I had to help Nojiko. He didn't say anything, just stared long and hard at me.

"Why did you barge in here earlier?" I asked once the silence seemed to consume us. I had to corner him in an awkward situation to get my way. I feel like I had done this several times before. Although all my feelings with Zoro seemed familiar I couldn't seem to grasp a memory between us that was solid, just a few hazy memories with him in the background with my other friends.

He shifted obviously uncomfortable.

"You weren't waiting with Luffy and the others," he said easily. He shrugged as if it was nothing but his cheeks started to turn pink ever so slightly.

"I was with Robin," I offered.

"I didn't know if you really remembered her or not."

"So you thought I'd panic?"

He didn't say anything just sort of nodded. His head dipped down slowly and deliberately but I couldn't be sure if it was an actual nod of acknowledgement or if he was starting to drift off to sleep.

"And you didn't get lost finding this room?" I snorted. His eye brow quirked and his smirk reappeared as his gaze shot up to meet mine.

"No. This is base," he said as if that explained everything.

It didn't really do much. I knew this was the rebel base but I hadn't really thought that Luffy and the others would be willing to live here or visit here much. That might have been because I was stuck with the bunker that felt so much like home with them for such a long time.

"And after you saw I was fine?" I pressed.

Zoro hated admitting that he emotions for people. If I could just get him embarrassed enough he would back down, and maybe I could drill him about my sister and get some answers out of him.

"I know what you are trying to do Nami," he growled. "It stopped working a while ago… sheesh. I guess being a witch is just ingrained into you," he mumbled the last part to himself.

I smacked him upside the head again.

"I should charge you for that," I growled.

"Put it on my tab," he replied cheekily.

His smile seemed to grow wider and I was starting to greatly dislike the bubble of anticipation that seemed to grow in my stomach with it. I scoffed and sat down roughly on the bed beside him, careful to keep my gaze locked at the opposing wall.

There was a loud bang in the hallway that seemed to ring out, followed by Luffy's loud laughter.

"We should probably go check on that…" I mumbled. Knowing Luffy who knew what kind of mischief he was causing. Even with allies it was best to keep an eye on him.

"Yup," Zoro agreed not moving.

Shouting was joined with our captain's laughter, and a couple of disgruntled curses.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. My head fell with an audible thump, and I pinched the bridge of my nose again as I sighed. I squeezed my eyes shut as another bang and loud laughter filled the air.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"Eating breakfast," Zoro answered.

Only Luffy could cause this much racket and chaos during a single meal. I growled and swung my legs over the bed to stand. I was just about to leave when a warm hand wrapped around my wrist. I whirled to face Zoro and I was honestly surprised when his gaze was locked on the floor.

"Do you remember anything?" he asked bluntly. His cheeks seemed to glow slightly brighter.

I was tempted to say of course. He had been there when I was starting to get back memories, but I knew he was asking something else. The way his cheeks were tinted pink I had a feeling it had to do with just that, feelings. I could just stand there dumbly as I tried to think of an answer. My mouth was slightly agape and I must've looked dazed because Zoro sighed and dropped my hand.

"I mean with Arlong," he said quickly. I knew it was an excuse to get out of whatever he had just tried to bring up. I numbly shook my head no.

"I don't want to remember that," I said quietly. "I have a feeling it was just like my past… and I don't want to live in my past. I want to get better and be with you guys."

I could feel my face burning with embarrassment but I refused to turn away from him. If anything Zoro was truly my friend even if he didn't handle emotions really well, I didn't either. So if we both suffered it wasn't nearly as bad. I grinned weakly at him.

"Just keep leaving it to us," he said standing and stretching dramatically. As he yawned his hands wrapped around my back and pulled me to his chest.

I wanted to cry again. A memory came back and I knew it was back from when I was being controlled as an Other and I knew Zoro had said something similar to me. I could feel it there and I wanted to grasp it and pull it up to inspect but just like that it was gone again and I was filled with a sense of loss that I so desperately wanted to go away. I wanted to be complete again; I want to be part of my friends. And Zoro was offering me just that. A memory from when they first rescued me from Arlong Park came back, and I strangled a sob. I remembered being terrified for them, and not being able to believe that they could save me… well that was then and this was now. If anyone could take care of it they could, but I wasn't about to let them do all the work this time. I was stronger now too. Still the comfort of Zoro's strong arms was something I felt like I desperately craved. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him closer. He smelled a lot like sweat, smoke (not the cigarettes kind but the fire kind), and something that was almost metallic.

I don't know how long we stayed like that. It could have been hours, it could have been a couple of minutes, but all too soon the reality of the situation we were in came crashing in around us.

There was almost a deafening boom as the door flew open. Out of instinct I jumped but Zoro seemed to squeeze me tighter to his chest for a moment before he sighed and let me go. Standing in the door way Sanji was panting and doubled over. His hand shook as he pointed at Zoro with a glare that would have killed anyone else.

"How dare you sneak around to get alone time with Nami?! You shitty ass caveman!" he hissed.

"Sorry Nami. He kept asking if you were awake and if you were hungry," Robin said leaning around from behind the angry cook and giving me an apologetic smile.

"It's umm okay. We were just about to get breakfast," I offered quickly looking back at Zoro. He was glaring at Sanji and I was pretty sure he didn't even hear me give him a perfectly good excuse to get out of this situation.

"I was worried about her," he said addressing the cook.

I think I gasped, or Robin did. Sanji just stood there stupidly, his mouth slightly agape. He recovered quickly though and his jaw snapped shut with an audible thud.

"I've been in a sick bed worried sick about our angel for two days you worthless dickhead."

"At least I didn't see an Other and run straight into her arms, twirling around like a ballerina," Zoro hissed.

"What did you just say?"

"I'll speak slower. You. Ballerina," Zoro barked. His hands shot to his swords and rested there. His jaw was clenched tightly. I swear Sanji's head was about to blow up.

"I'll feed you in a minute my sweet angel," Sanji said striding into the room and walking around me. I've never in my entire life been blown off by Sanji for a fight with Zoro, but it wasn't like I had asked for food yet and he was just addressing me like the gentleman he was before he put Zoro in his place.

"You let her go once-"

"She told me she would be back by sunset-"

"Don't make excuses. I'll never forgive you-"

"And I'll never forgive myself. Now stop being a stupid shit and feed her. She told you she was about to get breakfast, and I'm sure she hasn't eaten since the day before yesterday," Zoro snapped.

I swear my mouth dropped to the point where it was hanging on the floor. Sanji seemed phased by Zoro too. They stared at each other for a second before Sanji turned to me smiling tightly.

"Come on Nami _my_ sweet," he said offering his arm for me to take. I stared at it for a second wondering if a pair of teeth would sprout out and bite me.

"You should still be resting Sanji," Robin said stepping around him to offer her arm to me. I gladly accepted it.

"Don't strain yourself Sanji," I said quietly patting his arm lightly and smiling. He smiled sweetly.

"Of course Nami, but you're more important than –"

"Alright Lover boy we get that you're a queer. Let her go get some breakfast," Zoro growled quickly striding out the door with a flap of his arm in dismissal.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Sanji shouted after him storming out the door to catch up. I could barely hear Zoro's faint reply of 'sleep'. I couldn't hold in the smile that seemed to spread across my face.

"Sanji seems better," I noted out loud. Robin chuckled and led me out the door.

I had never actually been inside a school before. I wouldn't know how to recognize one on the inside. But when we walked past dozens of doors with abandoned desks and half-filled chalk boards I knew where we were. I guess the school was used as a base for the rebels. We walked down a row of lockers before Robin held me up for a second.

"I know this is silly but we're all assigned lockers to use to stash personal belongings," Robin started.

She pointed one near the corner of the hall. They all looked the same; they all had the same peeling red paint, and all looked ready to fall off their hinges. I wasn't sure about the security of any items that could be stashed away. I was about to ask why Robin was pointing at this locker when a dull memory surfaced. This was already my locker. I had stashed away some things thinking that it would be a short trip and I'd be right back. Excitement lunged at me as I quickly ran to the locker and turned the dial impatiently 11 11 11. Seemed easy enough to remember which is probably why I remembered it.

The door stuck fast as I pulled impatiently at it but gave way with another swift tug. Three letters fell to the floor as I did so and I knew that I hadn't been the one to put them in there. They obviously weren't secured enough… but that isn't what caught my attention.

In the back of the locker on a single hook hung a plain necklace. It wasn't lavish or anything I had expected when I saw the glint of gold, it had a single small Ruby clasped to a thin gold chain. I timidly reached out to it sort of expecting a flood of memories when I touched it. I held my hand out for a moment debating on if I should touch it before I sighed and quickly pulled it off the hook. I was greatly disappointed when nothing came back to me. I pocketed the necklace, making a mental note to study it later, and rummaged around the small locker space. I had several maps tucked neatly away in one corner. Some I had obviously not finished yet and a few others had notes scrawled neatly along the side. There was a random black hat on the bottom taking up a lot of room and when I moved it there was a pile of money folded neatly underneath it with the words 'Luffy's food budget' scrawled across the top. I chuckled as I pocketed that and made a mental note to give it to Sanji later for food… but then remembered that food wasn't really paid for at the moment and that money was practically useless.

I think half the reason I felt so vulnerable was that I couldn't hide behind money and tangerines in a world that had no use for such superficial things. I had no clue how my trees were doing but I couldn't exactly check on them when we were so far from the ocean. I couldn't excuse myself from an awkward situation and blame the need to check on my trees. No, I was left out in the open, bare and exposed. To be honest it scared me. Did my friend's hate the person they were seeing now? The scared little girl without her memory of them who was running around doing nothing but being a burden, did they hate her? I shivered and noticed that Robin was waiting patiently for me to look through my things.

There was a small black bag shoved to the side and it seemed to carry a small amount of toiletries and a spare change of clothes. I grabbed it, slung it over my shoulder, bent down and scooped up the scattered letters, then turned my attention back to Robin.

"I remembered the code to get in…" I said lamely as I looked at her expectant gaze. Her brows furrowed for a moment before she shrugged.

"It was worth a try. When you were still an Other you had a few relapses when I was around," she told me.

That was why she had been absent since I had been 'awakened'. It didn't explain what sort of relapse I had experienced.

"Relapses?" I questioned timidly when it became clear that she wasn't going to continue explaining unless prompted.

"You seemed to remember me when you were under Arlong's control. We couldn't have that when you were so close to danger."

I strained to remember remembering Robin but nothing came to me. I don't remember a single thing from when I was an actual Other. Just things right before and a few while memories of me being tortured… that was all I had to go off. I felt guilty all of a sudden because I knew I had blocked out all of my friends to protect them and things with Robin seemed to all be there. I remembered nearly everything about her without a single hitch. It was like it flowed back to me more naturally than anything else had so far.

"Chopper has a theory that it is because I am one of your few female friends and the only other girl on the crew."

It hit me then. I had reached out to Robin because I had been scared of guys. I knew it was stupid to be worried about my friend's touches, hell I had even been freaked out when Luffy gave me a hug and the thought of giving Usopp a hug had sent me into a cold sweat. I had reversed back to the Nami before the Straw Hats. I was the Nami that didn't know how to trust and was terrified for the people who had come into my life and so unselfishly gave me everything without asking for anything in return.

"Oh," was all I managed to say back as we rounded another corner.

"Nami," Robin said calmly as we got closer to the sounds of Luffy's loud laughter. "I'm truly sorry we took so long in getting you back."

"All that matters is that you guys did," I told her with a smile.

I would be okay. I wasn't okay now. I still had no clue what the hell happened to me and I still was struggling to remember them but I know I love them. I know they are my family and that I trust them. They would help me get through this.

With that being the last word between us, Robin pushed open the door.

Several people were eating in corners to help them defend their food from Luffy's long reach. In the center of the room Luffy was at the main table stuffing as much food as he could down his throat. Usopp was beside him laughing with Chopper about something. Franky was chugging cola like it was no one's business, and I noticed with great glee that Brook was there as well. I rushed up to the group tugging Robin with me and sat down eagerly next to Luffy.

"Nami!" he greeted with a giant smile. A piece of ham stuck out of his lips.

"Swallow your food first before you greet people," I growled smacking him lightly upside the head. His grin seemed to triple in size.

"You're not scary yet," he told me.

"Yo ho ho. Can I see your p-"

"Is that how you greet someone you pervert?!" I yelled interrupting Brook and kicking him hard upside the head.

"Pervert?" Franky asked looking at me.

Luffy's laughter seemed to dance around me and suddenly I was smiling and laughing too. This was all so familiar. I had missed it so much. Robin pushed a plate of food to me as she sat down between Brook and Franky across from me. I smiled at her gratefully and tucked in. I really wanted to hound Brook to hell and back with questions of my sister but in front of all the strangers that surrounded us it didn't feel like the place.

Before I even had a chance to finish my breakfast, Brook was stretching and bidding everyone his goodbyes and that he would be back hopefully for dinner to eat because he would be starving- although he was already bones. I yelled after him but I was ignored as he quickly sprinted away.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"He'll be okay," Chopper told me.

As if that was what I was worried about, I snorted to myself. No I had faith in Brook. Zombies were weak and if he was just trailing one Other than he would be fine. What I wanted to know was everything from how the hell Arlong was involved in this and how he got my sister. It seemed to be a touchy subject and for some reason it felt like I couldn't ask flat-out what was going on. Again it might have been the strangers that crowded the cafeteria but I felt odd.

It was a few more minutes before I realized why.

Everyone was staring at me. It wasn't like the discreet stare for a split second and look away stare but hardcore stare downs in every direction. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably and grabbed my arm self-consciously.

"Maybe bringing her back to headquarters was a bad idea…" Usopp said out loud for us to hear as he glanced nervously over his shoulder.

"She does still have a few alarming features," Robin agreed.

"She's fine," Chopper snapped and stabbed a piece of his food with a little more force than necessary. I felt a flash of irritation for being talked about like I wasn't here but I knew that they have grown used to addressing me like this. Half the time I had barely been able to focus on them long enough to know I was in the conversation. I think the vast improvement was really only noticed by Chopper and Zoro.

"Nami."

Luffy was addressing me in what seemed like a stern voice. I turned my attention back to my captain. He had one had covering his nose as he continued to shovel food down his throat like a grave-digger. The rate and pace of it was ridiculous as always and as I looked down I noticed that most of breakfast was missing. I scoffed and hurriedly wolfed down the rest of my food before Luffy's stretchy hands could find it.

"Nami," Luffy said again.

"What?"

I rolled my eyes expecting him to ask if he could lick the crumbs off my plate.

"You really stink. You need a bath," he told me.

"That's rude!" I hissed and hit him hard upside the head.

"OW!" he hissed rubbing his head. He had fallen back slightly in his chair but he was still managing to eat the food that was in front of him. "How's that rude Nami? You do stink… when's the last time you had a ba-"

I punched him upside the head again and roughly stood up from my seat. I was slightly embarrassed since my captain has no sense of volume control and I really hadn't had the chance to bathe in a while. I did stink. I could smell myself but the allure of food was more prominent than the need to clean up some. Still the color that rose to my cheeks didn't go unnoticed as Robin chuckled.

"I'll show you the bath house once you finish eating," she told me. I nodded and sat back down. Carefully I leaned over Luffy to grab a choice looking piece of meat.

"Here Nami," Chopper said shoving a bowl of fruit into my arms before I could take a bite. I raised my eye brow but shrugged it off. I popped a few grapes into my mouth and sighed with content. It felt good to eat with my friends.

* * *

**A/N: **_Well here's another chapter. I was pretty worried about the Sanji/Zoro interactions... I can never quiet get it right, but I think I wrote a passable part for this chapter. I was going to wait a bit before posting but then I realized I won't have time to at all for the next week or the week after that. I mean I could manage to squeeze in time for it but... yeah... So here's your chapter. Updated because future me is feeling lazy. Oh and if you guys don't get an update on Halloween someone has the right to leave me a very hatefilled message. :p. Until next time~_


	5. Chapter Five

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Five**

I was blissfully unaware of the whispering cafeteria buzz. My friends are so loud (Luffy alone) that they block out the hum. A hush seemed to fall upon us as Luffy leaned back and belched loudly sighing in content and rubbing his extended belly. Usopp excused himself with a cold shoulder when I offered a see you later. I glared at his back quizzically as he strolled out of the room with purpose.

The buzz in the room seemed to grow louder and I finally noticed that most if not all of it was about me. I could hear the disgruntled sighs of disproval and heavy whispers about my appearance. More than ever I was very aware of just how much I smelled and I cringed to myself. I clamped my arms down tightly to my sides hoping it would help but it seemed in vain. I finished my own meal a few minutes ago and now the uncomfortable gnawing sensation was gone and I could focus. I could tell why Usopp had been so nervous about me being here. I was pretty sure that several people had their guns out laid on the table for me to see. It was a reminder that I better keep my toes in line.

I wanted to get up and yell at some people, some were being a bit too rude about my appearance, but I stopped. I couldn't. I wasn't trusted for a reason. I had done some things, I have no clue but I did them. They didn't know if I am in full control of myself yet… hell I don't even know. So with a heart full of begrudge I stayed seated and glared at my plate.

"Robin, whenever you finish eating can you take me to the bath house?" I asked. I know she had promised earlier but I wanted to leave now. It was one thing for me to blow up on a crewmate, but it was completely different with an ally. Especially since an ally didn't know me as well and I didn't even know the full conditions of things. They wouldn't know what to expect and I didn't either. I didn't want to put any of my friends in danger because of my actions or give them any more grief on my behalf.

Robin didn't even answer me out loud. An arm sprouted up next to me and helped pull me to my feet and we wordless made our way out of the now silent cafeteria. I could feel my neck burning as we made our way out the door. The silence had become thick enough to cut as soon as I stood up. Once we were out and walking in silence for a few moments I stopped and leaned against the wall.

"What the hell did I do?" I barked. I am never short with Robin, but my irritation was getting to me. I think she knew it wasn't really directed at her but more at the situation. She smiled softly and leaned against the wall next to me.

"Nothing," she told me. "You haven't done anything wrong. You're just the first one we've managed to bring back so… smoothly. It's only been a month and you've managed to be around all of your friends without trying to kill anyone. No one knows what to make of you or what to expect."

I guess that kind of made sense but now I felt really uneasy.

"They're waiting for me to fail?" I asked annoyed more now.

"No…" Robin said quietly. "They are hoping you'll succeed."

Again her answer threw me off. I had to chew it over for a moment but I knew Robin wouldn't lie to me. Even in the state I was in she wouldn't say something like that. She wouldn't have said it in such a forward way. The woman is like my sister, and I know she would never purposely say or do anything to harm me. That included blocking what other people might say or think about me normally. But she presented it in such a way that left little doubt in my mind that she was telling the truth. I shifted nervously on my feet.

"So there's a lot riding on my shoulders then huh?" I asked feeling the body part mentioned slump slightly as imaginary weight seemed to press down on me.

"You could say it like that," Robin answered chuckling. She pushed herself off the wall and rounded around the corner leaving me no choice but to follow her. I practically stumbled into the room as she disappeared behind a set of doors.

"Robin?" I called out.

She didn't respond. Nervously I crept forward into the room there was a short hallway and I could see its opening as the narrow pathway bended to curve, I strained my senses to find her. It smelt different in this room; it had a musky mildew scent that hung in the air. Which told me there was water nearby and this was more than likely the bath house I had been promised. I edged around the corner and placed my back firmly against the wall.

"Robin?" I called out again feeling slightly more panicked.

"In here."

Her voice answered around the corner somewhere. I don't know why I was suddenly nervous. Possibly because this was the first new environment I had been in without someone by my side. I shifted slightly to lean against the cool tiled walls. They seemed almost wet with slick leftover moisture and they reflected the lights overhead with a brightness that was nearly blinding me. The tile on the ground was firmer but the slickness was still there. Hesitantly I rounded the corner.

There were several lockers in the middle of the room. Robin was standing at one and shoving her shirt in it. The rest were all vacant. There was a steady dripping noise coming from the left. I turned and inspected the rows of curtains with bright shiny silver shower heads beckoning me to them. Behind Robin were several mirrors and a counter with rows of sinks and to the right a bunch of cubicles (which I assumed hide the toilets).

What caught my attention was the scared looking girl that was pressed flat against the wall in the reflection of the mirror. I sucked in a hard breath of disbelief at her. She was scrawny, but her figure wasn't terrible. Her hair was matted and stuck up in a few odd angles; it was oily as well and pulled back into a lazy pony tail. Dirt smeared nearly every square inch of her, and it made her look even skinnier. Her cheeks were shallow, and her neck was really scrawny. She looked almost starved but it wasn't quite there yet. She had on a pair of ratty jeans and a sweat stained tank top, with a dark black bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes had dark circles under them and made the light color stick out even more.

I blinked. The reflection blinked.

My jaw dropped. I looked awful. And I was pretty sure the last time I checked in a mirror my eyes had been brown. I edged away from the wall and wearily made my way over to the mirror. A sense of disconnection came over me as I traced every surface I could see with my hands and watched in horror as the mirror did so as well. At least I still had boobs. They seemed to have shrunk a little but there were still there. I shook my head. I was practically leaning my greasy forehead against the mirror now to look at my eyes.

Around my pupil there was a solid brown color it was a small rim but it was there. The rest of my eyes had a light greenish color with brown hinting that it was breaking through. An icy blue ended the cycle on the outside. To unnerve me even more my eyes were rimmed with red and slightly bloodshot.

"They've gotten way better," Robin assured me. She was wrapped in only a towel and patiently holding one out for me to grab.

I glanced at her reflection that was waiting calmly behind me. I tried to smile but failed miserably. I didn't like my eyes, and I was sure it was a constant reminder to everyone else that I wasn't Nami yet. This wasn't me. I turned away from my reflection and gratefully accepted the offered towel. I didn't even bother hiding from Robin as I stripped; she had seen me naked a thousand times before back when we shared a room. It wasn't a big deal. But as I pulled off my shirt something fell and clattered to the ground making me jump. I stared with disbelief at the flare Zoro had given me the night before. I hurriedly scooped it up and shoved it into my bag and then proceeded to strip the rest of my clothes off.

I made my way to the shower and switched one on. I didn't even test to see if the water was warm yet. I just jumped right in. I sighed and leaned against the wall as the water raced over my body. It had been too long since I had properly bathed. I smiled as a pair of hands sprouted out of my neck and started to lather some type of soap into my dampening hair. I had forgotten to get that but Robin, as always, was ever thoughtful of this. Another hand sprouted up and handed me a bar of soap.

I cringed as I looked down at my feet and saw a pool of dirt water racing down the drain. I eagerly scrubbed my body down. Once I rinsed I did it again. Robin's hands were busy helping my head of hair unknot and wash out. I could hear her tsking in the shower next to me as she reached a particularly stubborn section. I grinned and leaned back against the wall letting the water run over me. It was warm and the steam rising off of me and surrounding me filled me with comfort. Plus Robin's hands seemed almost therapeutic against my scalp.

After a while, Robin seemed content with my now unraveled hair and her hands disappeared with a faint pop. I ran my fingers through it enjoying the silky texture the water seemed to give it. I searched for the bottle of shampoo and washed myself again for the third time. I scrubbed every nook and cranny of my body. I was practically red and my skin felt raw, but it was immensely satisfying. The hot water beat against my body felt like a well-deserved punishment.

I was probably in there a lot longer than I should have been, because suddenly the water ran cold and as I desperately turned the knob I saw that my hands were all pruned. Sheepishly I turned the water off and grabbed my towel.

Just outside my shower stall my backpack rested with clean clothes piled on top. Eagerly I pulled them on. It was a pair of cargo shorts that were a dark green and a clean grey tank top. I wrapped the towel around my hair as I stepped out searching for a pair of shoes. The cold tile felt alien against my feet. I frowned at the dirty pair of sneakers but sat down on the bench and opened my bag. Right on top was a pair of socks which felt delightful on my cold feet once I slipped them on. After a moment of frowning at my shoes again I slipped them on. They were comfortable but they were hardly appealing to look at.

I glanced around and saw that the room was now vacant. The mirrors had fogged and the steady dripping noise could be heard again.

"Robin?" I called out. I wasn't nervous anymore but being alone in the room made me feel uneasy. I shrugged and figured she must have left but would be back soon. I didn't exactly need to be babysat every minute of the day. I wasn't really sure if I was even allowed to be alone. So I sat down on the bench and roughly pulled out the belongings that I had in the black bag.

Three letters, a map, a flare, a necklace, and several random toiletries, that was all I had in my possession. I stared at the items with fascination for a moment. I actually had things. I had stuff to carry around and superficially worry about. I smiled as I fingered the ruby on the gold necklace. I didn't like it hanging about loosely where it could easily be lost. The safest place for it was either back in my locker or on my neck. For a second I was indecisive about what I should do with it before I shrugged and clasped it around my neck. I couldn't see any harm in wearing a simple piece of jewelry, besides I still had my gold bracelet my sister had gotten me. What harm could it possibly go through?

The map looked unfamiliar, but it was obviously my work. I had several coordinates written down on the upper left hand corner. That and I recognized the signature double swipe of the first line of a map that I normally drew. The longer I looked at it I noticed several dashes that seemed to coincide with the coordinates I had written in the corner. I squinted at it for a moment. On the bottom right I folded up the corner in a very discreet way but it was something I did when I left a small note for myself. I flipped it down and looked at my own writing.

_A's, _with a small square drawn next to it. A square was my way of drawing a base. My eyes searched for the mark on the map I found it but it didn't match the square at the bottom of the page, before I remembered that instead of a square I would have drawn something else to go with that symbol. Instantly I knew it would be a triangle, something that looked like a sharp jagged tooth. I was right. My heart started to pound furiously.

I knew where Arlong was. I had his coordinates right here. And if I was right then he more than likely had my sister with him. I flipped the corner of the map back up. I studied my handiwork and noticed that it could easily pass for wear and tear on the map. Now I just had to figure out where exactly I was on this map… Nervously I checked over my shoulder getting the distinct feeling I was being watched. I sighed, remembering Robin's devil fruit powers would allow her to watch me. I folded the map carefully and stowed it away in the front pocket of my pants.

I turned my attention to the top letter. It had my name formally scrawled across it, in neat perfect handwriting. I fingered the wax seal for a moment before I slid my finger across, breaking the seal.

_Upon your return to base we would like to be informed of all intelligence collected._

_Dragons_

I stared at it blankly for a moment. Well obviously it was from the Revolutionary Dragons the band that followed Luffy's father but at the same time I had no clue when I was supposed to 'inform them of all the intelligence I had collected' because quite frankly I'm sure I don't have anything to report. I folded it neatly and shoved it roughly in my backpack. Like hell I had to report to anyone but my own captain and even then he barely heard a word I said anyways, unless it was pointing him in the right direction.

I tossed the other letter that had the same formal writing on it back in the bag without even bothering to open it. I was about to do so with the third when I saw that the hand writing was different. I paused and just looked at it in my hands for a moment. It didn't seem special but the handwriting looked vaguely familiar. I hadn't remembered a single thing today and I really wanted to get more of my memories back, I craved it, I was eager for their return. I liked to remember my friends, they were always happy memories even if I was scared at the time they all held the confidence that my friends would succeed. So with gusto I tore into the letter.

_You're late. I'm looking._

This one wasn't even signed. I felt a flash of anger and frustration rip at me.

Really? No one could write more than one fucking sentence? What the hell was up with that? How was I supposed to remember anything with one sentence letters? How was anyone supposed to gather what someone wanted with ONE SENTENCE? Angrily I crumbled this letter and tossed it into my backpack with an angry sigh.

"I was hoping you'd go back to the cafeteria. It's lunch time already. Are you hungry?"

I jumped slightly as Robin reappeared at my side. I smiled weakly at her. I grabbed the flare, the last item that was still out of my bag and shoved it down my shirt. What can I say? Old habits die hard.

"I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be walking around alone…"

She chuckled.

"I trust you Nami. You don't need an escort."

Despite her cheerful attitude and the fact that she had helped me shower not too long ago, I could still feel something between us. It was unresolved and her simple explanation earlier didn't explain what was weighing heavily on my mind. Maybe I was over thinking things but her statement from the night before seemed to ring out to me, I had tried to kill her… I couldn't even remember it.

"How did I do it?" I whispered.

Her smile faltered and she sat down next to me on the long bench in front of the lockers. Even after all this time she could still understand my vague question. I was asking about our last confrontation, I was asking about a time I couldn't remember.

She sighed.

"I don't blame you Nami," she told me. I knew that, but I also knew that it had to be a painful reminder to look into my oddly colored eyes and have to deal with me without my full memory.

"I just want to know what happened. Maybe hearing it will help me remember?" I timidly asked.

She looked at me long and hard before sighing.

"Brook, Usopp, and I were following you and Arlong," she paused before she shifted uncomfortably. "I was shocked because it had been months since any of us had seen you. Zoro said that he and Arlong had clashed before but fish men are way stronger under Vegapunk's drug chip and Luffy demanded that he retreat. I wasn't expecting to see you with him. I slipped and caused this loud crash…" she trailed off to look at me out of the side of her eye. She was facing forward and her back was rigid.

"I attacked you?"

"No Arlong did," she corrected. "You and Usopp got into a wrestling match over your Clima tact. I think you said something morbid to him. But once you were weaponless you pushed Arlong aside and came after me. We had no choice but to retreat."

I could tell it wasn't the whole story. Obviously it wasn't but she was waiting for me to remember all of this. I shook my head in frustration and growled lowly.

"I'm sorry Robin," I said quietly.

She smiled and chuckled lightly.

"You saved me. If you hadn't caused that distraction then we would have died. We have been rather lost without you Miss Navigator," she told me in a hushed tone. Normally the distant way she said navigator was a sign that Robin didn't trust me as much, this time it was to show that without me and in my position on the crew, I had been sorely missed. A lot like when Robin had been taken from us. I cringed.

"Besides I managed to get away from you with just a few bruises. You could have easily crushed my neck," she said. I cringed again, Robin's dark humor was always ill timed. She chuckled.

She stood and brushed imaginary dirt from her skirt and looked over at me.

"If you'd like I'll give you a tour around the school," she told me.

"I'd like that."

I stood quickly, the towel that had been wrapped around my head fell to the floor and my hair fell into my face. I noticed that a small streak of hair had turned silver and I inspected it with mild horror. Robin laughed at this.

"Don't worry it's just that one streak. It's not even noticeable when your hair is up."

"Where's that hair tie?!" I half shrieked going back into the shower stall to look for it. Robin shrugged and chuckled from behind me.

"I doubt we'll bump into anyone you'll want to impress-"

"It's not that!" I bemoaned. Honestly I didn't care about my appearance at this point I just didn't want Luffy to see it and make fun of me for being old. Okay maybe I do care, but after who knows how long without a proper shower I was entitled to feel a little self-conscious with how I look.

"Zoro's asleep," she reminded me.

I blushed, this time I wasn't sure if it was because she threw me off with her answer or if it was because that I was a little nervous about running into him again. I had a feeling if I didn't bump into him before dinner he would come seek me out. After the strange meeting this morning with him I was sure that something was different between the two of us. There was an odd pulling sensation in my stomach at her words and I couldn't help but remember how quickly he had listened to her. Zoro was stubborn, and arguing with him was like arguing with a brick wall. Although he considered Robin his friend he never _fully_ trusted her like he did with Luffy or myself, it didn't add up to why he suddenly had listened to her like that. But again, I could be reading too far into something.

Zoro only listens to Luffy and sometimes me. Everyone else in our crew he might consider but he doesn't take warnings. Robin had been warning him against something when she had cut him off. What topic had he been forbidden to express? Did it have to do with those emotions that were simmering so close to the surface with us?

Robin seemed to notice my inner dilemma.

"You don't remember him?"

"I remember him alright," I growled lowly under my breath.

"You guys had a fight a few days before we lost you…"

"We always fight," I said with a shrug. I left out that we hadn't really gotten into any sort of fight since I had been back. We had small discussions that sounded like bickering but not a fight. Don't ask me how I know this. I just do. She nodded thoughtfully.

"I think it would take out the suspense if I told you what I know?" she phrased it like a question giving me time to deny the request if I wanted.

I nodded eagerly before I even realized I had done so. My growing blush deepened in my embarrassment.

"I think you two were dating. You never told me but it was unofficially official as you like to say. He was mad that you wouldn't wear that necklace before you left on a mission when you said you didn't want to get it dirty or place it in danger. He was furious that we wouldn't let him come with us…" she paused and gave me a look of sympathy. "I'm not sure what your status is but he seems to want you to remember."

I half choked on the air.

"Oh…"

I guess it explained why I was so comfortable with him, and with my recent memory loss it could all just been taken as a good friend being there to support me. My hand shot up to my neck where the necklace now seemed to burn my throat. I wanted to rip it off… but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't feel any anger towards the swordsman and whatever was behind us was behind us now. It seemed like an awfully silly reason fight over a necklace. Either I hadn't told Robin much about my relationship with the swordsman back then or she was withholding information on me, at this time though I couldn't bring myself to care about past emotional problems. It went in one ear and out the other. I was living in the now, I would analyze this new piece of information later.

Besides the new information about the necklace, what Robin just told me wasn't exactly new news. I was already starting to think that there was something more between Zoro and I, and I was getting close to confronting him about it anyways. I hardened my resolve, nodding to myself, to actually confront him later about 'us'.

"Let's go," I said sheepishly to Robin. I didn't want to talk about it any further and a perfect excuse of getting a tour of the school was waiting for me. She smiled and led me out the door.

If my brain wasn't already wired for retaining locations I would have been helplessly lost, but I easily handled the information and squirrelled it away. The school was rather large, and it had an irregular shape to it. Some sections were box like with doors lining up on either side, Robin explained that these were rooms for everyone stationed here; a lot of them were deserted though. Chopper had his own office but he shared the medical ward with a few other doctors. The Straw Hat's had occupied the gym and used pull out cots to sleep on, while Robin and I were across the hall in the previous office. I had a sneaking suspicion that Luffy was stationed here because it was the closest 'room' to the cafeteria. There was a large observatory room and a huge auditorium there as well. I smirked to myself. There were a lot of places to hide away from everyone. On the second floor it was just row upon row of lockers and several abandoned classrooms. The third floor was roped off with two men on either side of the staircase guarding it. Robin didn't need to tell me that section was strictly rebels only.

To pass sometime before dinner I showed Robin how to break into lockers on the abandoned second floor. There wasn't much in any of them. A few had pictures of groups of people, some even had some wanted posters in theirs with hearts drawn around them, or stacks of graded papers and books. Most of them were empty.

It got boring quickly, but spending time with the older woman was something I wasn't about to pass up. Robin even found a locker that had my wanted poster in it and laughed when I grumbled about perverted teenage males.

Chopper found us at the end of one such hallway. We were around the science department. I could smell the chemicals and the posters sprawled all over the walls had the insides of random creatures shown and labeled. The chemical smell reminded me of Weatheria… I was comfortable here.

"Here Nami," the little reindeer gave me a pill and a bottle of water. I looked at it suspiciously for a moment before wordlessly popping it into my mouth and swallowing a large gulp of water.

"If I'm late to take my pill, just tell me the times and I'll come find you Chopper," I mumbled. I hadn't exactly noticed before but now my mind felt clearer than ever. Chopper normally gave me pills at certain times of the day every day. The reindeer blushed slightly.

"Other patients aren't always willing to take their pills…" he said slowly in excuse. "I didn't want to add to the discomfort of having to dread what time to expect it," he told me.

I guess that made sense but at the same time I had a feeling that it was mostly because I had been so different… I hadn't exactly been myself, this was only the second day of having a large chunk of my memory back. I was now very aware that I had been more zombie like with my state of inattentiveness back at our original bomb shelter, and I think that my now rapid recovery was not only unnerving me but everyone else. I hadn't exactly been aware of time besides day and night.

I smiled warmly at the doctor and handed him back the now empty water bottle.

"Well I wouldn't be on the mend if we didn't have such a brilliant doctor," I told him.

He blushed and started to dance at my praise.

"Shut up you bitch. Like that flatters me!"

I laughed and his blush deepened.

"Oh Nami I almost forgot. Sanji told me to ask if you and Robin were going to eat with us or if you'd like some food brought to you?"

"Oh we'll come," I said answering for myself and Robin. Robin just smiled and nodded. And then the three of us made our trip back to the cafeteria.

As we walked in I could feel the eyes burning on me again. There seemed to be more people here this evening than there had been earlier this morning. I saw a couple of kids, a few mothers with babies pressed tight to their chests, but mostly it was a mass of uniformed men all talking and laughing loudly amongst each other. This time I wasn't as nervous to look into some of their eyes. Some of them held disgust; other's there was no denying that there was hope.

I deliberately squeezed in between Usopp and Zoro, separating them from their conversation.

"You look refreshed," Usopp noted. He looked a little more relaxed than he had this morning. I smiled at him.

"Showers can do wonders," I agreed. Zoro was stiff beside me. I could feel his eyes burning on the patch of my throat where the pendant of the necklace rested. I wondered if he would be angry at me for wearing it but decided I didn't care. The rest of the meal went by like this morning. Only this time I kept nervously looking out for Brook. I thought that stupid skeleton said he'd be back by dinner?

* * *

**A/N: **Happy Halloween! Woot! My favorite holiday and I've come down with the flu. Although I'm feeling much better today than I have the past couple of days. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It has a lot of sweat and tears into it. :p


	6. Chapter Six

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Six**

I mindlessly tossed the ball into the air and caught it. The rhythmic pattern was soothing. It had been a couple of days and things were starting to become routine for me. I'd get up, eat breakfast, take a shower, find an abandoned classroom and let a couple of memories find me, wait until Chopper found me to give me medicine, I'd go down for dinner, and then I'd wander around aimlessly until I got tired and wanted to go to bed. I was getting better at triggering memories. In fact I'm almost positive I have most of my memories of my friends at least, back now, but things with the swordsman were still fuzzy. I was starting to remember little things about him, like I had all along known things about him but now I could remember laughing with him or threatening him with a debt. Besides the fact that I sat down next to Zoro at dinner a few nights ago, at large I've been avoiding him. I'm kind of afraid to find out that yes we were together, we broke up, and he moved on. Or worse, he's been waiting for me to remember him and come running back. I'm not sure I want a romance, not with someone on my crew, not when we have such large dreams we want to carry out. Hell I could be completely wrong; we could have just been fuck buddies.

I was in an abandoned science classroom now. I had found a small tennis ball earlier and I was tossing it mindlessly in the air and catching it in time perfectly. I lay back against the desk and stared at the ceiling letting memories come pouring back to me. The chemical scent that hung in the air seemed to trigger a lot of things. Despite that I could remember my friend's all clearly I was still having trouble remembering what happened during my 'capture'. I still didn't want to remember. I'm pretty sure it was just like how it was when I was a kid under Arlong. Maybe it was worse this time. I shivered and wished that I had Robin's easy company. She was out doing things that were useful for the rebels. I had barely seen Robin since the first day, and Chopper would always find me and bring me back for meals, but during the day I was always alone. So I really wasn't expecting to hear the door quietly open and shut. I tensed and froze. I didn't bother lifting my head to see who it was. I would know if it was a friend or not in a second. And I hated making eye contact with people. I hate my eyes. I tossed the ball up again.

"You have not reported any information to us."

I sighed catching the ball with ease and sat up to glare at the person. He had a large head and a short stubby body; he was wearing a rather tight leather outfit that didn't seem quite right on him. His large eyes and puffy purple hair left little doubt in my mind about who this was. He was Sanji and Luffy's friend Ivankov.

"I wasn't aware that-"

"We left you a letter which you have reportedly opened," he snapped. I bit my lip and took a deep breath. It was best not to fight with my friend's friends.

"You aren't my captain," I growled slowly. "And it's rude to interrupt people," I added.

Silence seemed to lap between us. Ivan didn't look ashamed but more puzzled by me. His large head cocked to one side and his fingers rested under his chin as he scrutinized me.

"Robin reported that you are missing a large part of your memory. Is this true?"

"Well how would I know if I'm missing a large portion of my memory? It's missing after all," I snapped back. I was being a bit short today, and I might have felt like being difficult. It was probably because I don't like having to 'report' anything to anyone. It brought back things with Arlong, and I hate that man. I leaned back and stared tossing the ball again.

"We'll tell you what we know about your sister," he said quietly from the door. The ball thumped loudly on the floor as I stared at him with renewed interest. It rolled to his feet and he bent down and picked it up before lightly tossing it back to me. I caught it and trained my gaze back to it to glare.

I want to know what's going on. Truly I do, but my friends told me to leave it up to them. I trust them, so I'm going to do exactly that… even if it drives me insane with worry. For now at least I'd leave it up to them. I trust my friends more than I trust these rebels.

"No thanks," I said quietly. "Luffy will get her back for me."

At least this man seemed to get my loyalty to my captain. He smiled gently and sat down on a desk next to mine. I was starting to feel bad about my rudeness earlier. These rebels weren't my enemy, in fact Robin was friends with them and so was a large part of our crew. We were all working together with them to help end this madness that the world government created.

"I really don't remember much. I just know that I was tortured," I said quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Have you figured out the coördinates on your map?" he asked politely.

"No," I lied easily with a defeated shrug for good measure.

I wasn't sure why I did just lie. It just seemed like the right thing to do before I could even analyze it, that and I was worried that if I did tell them I figured it out they would take it away from me and demand that I explain it to them. Luffy's impulsiveness was starting to rub off on me. Silence filled the room again. I was starting to think that maybe he didn't believe me; I turned slightly to look at him from my peripherals.

"We'll bring you some maps darling. Maybe if you study some of your older work you'll remember better?"

I nodded eagerly. And then he left. Without so much as a word goodbye. I shrugged and resumed playing catch by myself.

The odd hiccup in my day I didn't really think much about until later after dinner that night. Brook had still yet to reappear, and I was growing more and more worried. Everyone else assured me that it was normal and not to fret, Brook could take care of himself, and yada yada blah blah. When I returned to my room there were several maps folded neatly on my bed. Robin was still gone so I flipped the light on and hurriedly began to sort through them. A sense of urgency filled me until finally I found a map that looked like my own.

I hadn't drawn it, I could see several points of inaccurate data but I ignored it as I tried to study the similarities. Overall this map was about several miles off-center than my map. I could easily fix it for them but shrugged it off. I found the point I wanted on the map. The point that basically said you are here.

There was a fine, single dot, just outside a large forest that said 'Rodger's School'. I would have snorted at the irony but I was too fascinated. I nervously checked over my shoulder again and fumbled around in my pocket. I pulled out my map and compared the two. I was able to place it on my map but I couldn't do an exact spot. There was about a ten-mile radius that was messed up with the faulty older map. But I had a general area of where I was now. A leap of hope shot through me and a sense of overwhelming accomplishment. It was all interrupted by a faint knock on the door.

I froze for a split second before I hurriedly stuffed my map back into my pocket and threw a blanket over the others sprawled across my bed. I have no clue why I didn't want people to see me with maps, but it felt like something I should keep to myself, especially with what I was now starting to plan.

"Come in," I squeaked picking up the closest book and opening it to a random page. I felt a flutter of anticipation shoot through me as the door creaked open. I was half expecting Zoro to be standing there brooding, but I dismissed it quickly. Zoro doesn't know how to knock nor does he know what personal space was when it came to privacy.

Usopp stuck his head in and sheepishly grinned at me.

"Oh hey Usopp," I said. I found it odd but I refrained from feeling nervous or shifting around. Usopp and I were great friends at one point and time but he had never sought me out, and vice versa.

"Nami," he said easily and strode into the room leaving the door wide open. He came in and sat down on Robin's bed. He looked nervous. He pulled his arms over his head and leaned back against the wall trying to look more at ease. I sent him a quizzical look and half closed the book in my lap. I would wait for him to start the conversation. He was normally pretty good about not beating around the bush anymore.

He took a deep breath.

"Look Nami I know I've been kinda distant lately but it's been hard on all of us to have you gone and then have you come back and not remember us-"

"I ca-"

"Wait!" he half shouted. He blushed before coughing and clearing his throat. "Let me finish I have a lot to say," he added.

"That day when I took back your Clima Tact I thought I lost one of my best friends. You practically shoved it in my hands and told me to leave and then Arlong went after Robin… Nami even then you were still under their control you were still Nami, and I was so pissed at you for trying to give up, pissed at you for trying to protect us. You should know that we are all in this together, that you can rely on us. Please know that when I gave Clima Tact back it was in full confidence that you can do this Nami. You can beat this disease and you can come back to us. I know you can."

It took me a second of blank staring before I realized that he was done and I felt my eyes start to tear up. It was like a waterfall after that.

"God dammit Usopp," I hissed between sobs. Stupid jerk making me cry and feel awful all over again. How was I going to be able to go through with this now? I would have to include everyone but they needed to include me. I couldn't tell them if they insisted on leaving me behind to keep me safe.

"Nami don't cry!" he panicked, he was never good with emotional girls and I knew this quiet well. And I wasn't just upset for what I was planning. Disease, I was sick still. It was clear in my eyes and in my memory loss. I was sick, and I couldn't be relied on because I was supposed to be healing. I continued to sob, unable to really control it now.

He shifted so that he came over to my bed and sat down next to me. Thankfully he missed the maps or he would have felt the crunch underneath him. He flung his arm awkwardly around my shoulder and I leaned into his side to hide my face.

"Remember that one time you kicked my ass because you thought I drew all over your mirror?" he said after a moment trying to interrupt my sobs.

"No," I sobbed even louder. He was trying to cheer me up with a memory wasn't the right choice, but despite my friend's nervousness at my crying he grinned cheekily at me.

"I didn't even do it. Chopper and Zoro thought it'd be a funny Halloween prank to draw a bunch of witches all over your mirror in soap even though it was March. You were so pissed because one of them was very well drawn and looked like you and you assumed it was me. I was in the middle of eating porridge and you busted into the kitchen and tried to drown me in it. Sanji was even willing to help throw me over board before you even told him what you thought I did!" he paused to chuckle. "And Zoro would have gotten away with it if Chopper hadn't loudly asked why you didn't think his proclamation was funny."

"His proclamation?" I asked despite myself. I hiccupped and noticed that I had stopped crying. Usopp was still a fantastic story-teller, his voice changed in time with his story making it dramatic, and even with one arm he motioned wildly to catch attention. I was never really big on Usopp's lies but this didn't seem like one. It seemed like it actually happened.

"I think you should shut up now."

Usopp shrieked and jumped away from me falling to the floor with a thump. I laughed hysterically and doubled over at my sprawled out scared friend on the floor. I couldn't contain it. I knew Zoro had been standing there for a few minutes now, he was as always silent and if he hadn't spoken up he would have gotten away with being undected. I was unsure of how I knew he was there, I just knew. Zoro stood in the doorway glaring at the sniper with a venomous look.

"Ah come on Zoro he was just getting to the good part," I said wiping tears of laughter away.

"You remember?" Zoro asked looking a little fazed. I screwed up my face in thought.

I did remember that, but I couldn't remember the part that Usopp was talking about, the part that had Chopper and Zoro talking about a proclamation.

"Most of it," I settled for lamely.

Usopp sat up grinning.

"I knew this would help! I gotta go tell Chopper," he said excitedly and was out the door before either Zoro or I could stop him.

Zoro stood there awkwardly for a moment before turning around to leave as well.

"Wait," I called out. Inwardly I cringed as Zoro froze and turned around to look at me. Okay so maybe I had been avoiding him for that reason too. He was all of a sudden a lot colder towards me, not angry, but he was alarming blank and I hated it.

"What do you-"

"Why were-"

We both paused before Zoro grinned at me sheepishly.

"I thought I heard you crying," he answered my question for me. He paused as if waiting for me to answer his unfinished question.

"I want to talk?" I questioned nervously. I stuck my head out quickly in the hall and noticed with relief that it was empty. I tugged the swordsman inside and closed the door gently behind him.

"About?"

Oh he had me there. I have no clue why or what I wanted to talk to him about. I gave him a blank look and took my seat on my bed again.

"What Usopp was talking about? A proclamation?" I questioned with the first thing that popped into my mind.

"Oh the day I told you I love you for the first time?" he said easily and sat down next to me.

My heart stopped for a split second. How was he so at ease? Zoro? This didn't seem like him. Emotions were out of his comfort zone he didn't talk about them, he showed them but he sure as hell didn't talk about them. Talking about them was a weakness. Wasn't it? Suddenly my whole perspective of Zoro was gone. I had nothing. I had no clue who he was. I couldn't read him, or figure him out simply or easily. He was a very interesting puzzle, and an attractive one to boot. My mouth went dry as I struggled for a moment to formulate an answer. What do you say when someone tells you that they love you in such a straight forward way when you have no memory of it?

Zoro chuckled and leaned back on the bed frame.

"Why haven't you told me?" I growled.

He paused to look at me out of the corner of his eye before sighing something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Chopper's going to kill me'.

"I've wanted to tell you… I've been hoping you would remember on your own. Besides you've felt it. I'm sure you know it already without me saying anything."

That part was true. I had known for a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to face it.

"Then how can you say it so causally now?" I snapped. I felt anger wrap itself around me and coil tightly to the point where my breath was rasping and I could barely speak above a whisper. How could he sit there so causal about _emotions_? It's Zoro! Expressing emotions was something he didn't do, no _doesn't_ do. And how exactly did we even get involved?! I'm not very forward about such things either. In fact I'm pretty sure at one point and time I've sworn off men.

"You made me stop caring about that stuff," he shrugged as if he could hear the disbelief inside me. "I knew there was no reason to be embarrassed and that it made me stronger for admitting it. If I'm going to be the strongest in the world I better be damn sure to tell the girl I love that I love her."

"Why didn't you tell me _sooner_?" I stressed. He could have told me the moment he realized I wasn't flinching away from his touch. He had plenty of alone time with me… and yet… he has never once really taken advantage of the situation. For a brief second I couldn't help but compare him to Sanji. Would Sanji ever take advantage of me in a situation like that? I stamped that down immediately, because honestly I can't even picture myself with anyone else on the crew. They're family.

So why wasn't I freaking out more about this? Why was this romance with Zoro practically falling into my lap like the most natural thing in the world?

"You don't remember me," he said flatly. "I wasn't about to scare you half to death by kissing you every chance I could or telling you that you were madly in love with me," he winked at me at the last part and I felt my face blush an even darker shade of red. What the hell was this man doing to me?

"Plus Chopper told me not to," he grumbled the last part out reluctantly.

He was right. With how I have been that would have done nothing but scare me, but at the same time, out of everyone Zoro was the one that I wasn't scared to let touch me. That, I liked being comfortable and in his arms. At least from what I could gather I still had affection for the swordsman.

"So where'd you find that necklace?" he asked when it became clear that I was at a loss of words on the subject. I smiled at the change of subject and I was thankful that he was still giving me the space to figure this entire thing out.

"It was in my locker," I answered.

"Damn… I didn't think to look there," he grumbled.

"Why were you looking for it?"

"I was going to steal it back from you and actually give it to you. You fucking stole it when I was dead asleep one night before I had the chance to give it to you," he growled. I smirked. That sounded a lot like something I would do.

"You're a poor thief," I said. I was on the verge of a giggling, but I tried to refrain.

"Well you're just poor," he snapped back. I think normally that would have pissed me off, but it was true. I was poor as of now, but I wasn't really concerned about it. I am rich in friends, as corny as that sounded.

"So are you," I was laughing now; Zoro's obvious disgruntlement with not looking in such an obvious place was starting to get to me. I was in a surprisingly good mood tonight anyways. My chest felt lighter and the sense of dread that had been over me since awakening seemed to falter.

"I'm not," he assured me.

"Then pay me back all that money you owe."

A sudden serious washed over us as Zoro didn't respond. His good eye was trained hard on me. I felt myself leaning in slightly, and I didn't even question why. I was going to kiss him. This banter between us was something we used to do so often it felt familiar and suddenly I wanted the familiarity of his kiss.

Zoro stood abruptly and my sheets that had been covering all the maps fell to the floor with him. His eyes widened as he looked at the top map.

"What?" he hissed. He bent over and scooped it up easily. "Nami, are you planning –"

"I'm not planning anything," I protested loudly and maybe too quickly. I was still embarrassed by the fact that he had just jumped away right when I was about to kiss him. I probably should have closed my eyes. They could be a bit unnerving but they were slowly becoming a hazel color and all the blue had disappeared.

"Ivankov gave them to me to see if looking at maps would help me get back some of my memory," I told him still talking rather quickly and kind of loudly.

His face softened at that and he visibly relaxed.

"You didn't steal them did you?" he questioned squinting at me in accusation.

"No, but next time I want something I'll keep that in mind," I replied relaxing with him. He smirked at my response.

"It's getting late… I better go."

He hesitated in front of me before quickly bending down and placing a warm kiss on my cheek.

"See you at breakfast," he said.

"Yeah…" I answered quietly as he strode out the door.

It was an odd feeling, that almost kiss. I had wanted to kiss him, and I could tell he wanted to too, but at the same time I'm really glad he jumped up when he did. I wasn't ready for him yet, and we both knew it. He was just giving me another piece to place in my puzzle. I rubbed my check where his warm lips had met my skin, it felt like it was burning, and it seemed to fill my chest with a deep longing. I clenched my eyes shut and let out a nervous breath.

()()()()()()()()()

I had waited up for Robin to return, and told her everything that had happened that day. She asked if the maps helped, and when I told her no she offered to take them back to Ivankov for me, so I gave them back. I didn't need them for anything, when my map was much more precise and accurate. After venting with the older woman, who didn't seem at all shocked by Zoro's 'secret' we went to bed.

Or at least Robin went to bed and I made a show of doing so as well.

After a few hours of her steady breathing filling the air I crept out of bed. I pulled on a sweater and quietly zipped up a pair of jeans. I grabbed my already packed back from under my bed, and my ugly ass sneakers and crept my way out. It was ridiculously easy to get out of there. I was excepting people to be on patrol and I easily avoided them. What I hadn't been ready for was to see Zoro and Sanji guarding the main door. Silently I cursed under my breath my plan already wrecked for the night when Zoro inclined his head in my direction. He knew I was there, I was sure he knew it was me too, but I wasn't about to walk into the open and give him proof. Cursing all the way back to my room I barely remembered to creep in and crawl back into bed quietly.

I woke up several hours later with a mild headache. I glanced over and noticed that Robin was already gone, and I doubt I would see her again until later tonight. Sighing I made my way to the bathhouse. There were several bathrooms throughout the school but only two bath houses, one for the boys and one for girls. Normally I woke up early enough to avoid seeing anyone else. Today I wasn't so lucky and I had to wait patiently for a group of small girls to finish using the showers. After that I groggily made my way to breakfast and slid into the seat beside Zoro. He flashed me a quick grin before turning his attention back on Chopper who was talking to him in a low voice.

The small doctor grinned at me and pointed to the water bottle and pill next to my plate. What bothered me about this was that it was already there waiting for me, like he knew I would sit down next to Zoro. I shrugged it off and decided not to get annoyed about it and took my pill and a large gulp of water. My mouth watered at the sausage on the main plate in front of us. I couldn't even remember the last time I had actual meat. Ever since I have been awakened I was on a fish and fruit diet, and although I love fruit I was really in the mood for some freaking sausage. I was tempted to see if anyone would notice me steal some when Sanji caught my wandering eye.

"Nami you're so beautiful when you think you're being sneaky," he told me and slid into the vacant seat on my other side.

I was surprised when almost immediately Zoro slung his arm over my shoulder and glared at the cook.

"Still off-limits, Blondie," he growled.

"So what? I can't compliment a beautiful woman? I doubt you'd have the elegance to make her feel special," Sanji snapped back.

"Yet I was the one that got the girl…" Zoro said trailing off and pulling me closer to his side of the bench.

I was dumb founded now more than I had ever been in my entire life. Although I was very against being basically called Zoro's property it still gave me an odd tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach. I felt like I had been in between these two several times for the same type of reason. But it didn't feel serious, just a reminder to Sanji that I was still spoken for. I know Sanji's a gentleman and would never actually try to steal away a friend's girlfriend but the possessiveness in Zoro's voice worried me that it would start a drastic fight. Sanji just scoffed in response.

"Don't insult Nami's judgment you big brute," the cook sneered. Zoro laughed for a moment before wolfishly biting into his sausage.

"Guys," I hissed. "I'm right here." I had enough of the childish behavior. I slammed my fist on the back of both of their skulls and stormed out, resolving to eat in a much quieter peaceful area. I grinned to myself for the normalcy. That and I managed to steal a piece of sausage. I slipped around the corner making careful note of the two guards by the front door. I wanted to snort. There was always more than one way in or out of any place. I would figure something out.

* * *

**A/N: **_DOHMYGOODNESS! Yes I updated within a week... shocker. Don't get used to it. Slightly shorter chapter, but with some more Zoro action finally. Next chapter jumps about a month into the future. I'm sure I don't have to go over every single detail, besides Nami's life is getting a little boring here all cooped up ;). Anyways you'll get another update soon, possibly two weeks from now and that has a lot of what I consider action in it. Brace yourselves - Until next time,_

_Oceanwind~_

_OH! I just found out that it was **PhoenixedDragon**'s birthday yesterday when I posted this chapter! Since she is a very good friend and I have nothing else I could possibly give her I devote this chapter to her! Cheers!_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Seven**

_Thump._

I paused in my frantic scramble to glance back down at the ground. The zombies seemed to have lost interest in me and didn't even notice me shoot up a tree; they were busy stupidly running into the metal wall. Every now and then one of them would pause and scratch their head in confusion. It would have been comical if I had been on the other side of the wall. I glanced up at the dark sky and noticed the full moon. It was a normal blue color now, but it was still lighter than usual. I'm assuming that it is because I was an Other still at some degree even if my eyes were almost back to normal. The sky had lost its sickly green color since the last time I had been out at night and it took me a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness outside.

_Thump. _

I hadn't been outside in ages, and despite the fact that I missed the cool breeze of autumn I did not miss hearing the wailing noises of the zombies at night.

_Thump. _

I cringed and nervously glanced to the large metal gate. Around the school several large metal gates encased the area. There was no getting in or out during the night, and while I loved the extra piece of mind in that I could sleep safely and so could my friends it didn't help my current predicament.

_Thump._

Several zombies were throwing their bodies mindlessly against the gate, but luckily their numbers didn't go over 10, they were jostling around too much for me to count a clear number. I could easily take them out with my Clima Tact but that meant risking being found by something much more sinister than a few zombies. I'm sure they have no clue that is actually the base for the rebels that are working so hard to bring down their demise but at the same time their persistence is annoying me.

_Thump. Thump._ _Grrrrrrroooooooan._

I shivered and pulled my jacket closer to try to block out the cold as I peered out of the tree to stare down at them. I guess I brought this upon myself. I hadn't exactly covered up my tracks coming back and either these stupid zombies had either followed my scent or my footprints. I'm hoping for the former so they don't find me now.

_Thump. _

"NAMIIIIIII!"

I stifled a gasp and focused on keeping my heart rate even. I'm not positive of this but I'm sure zombies can pick up on that sort of thing, and although I'm perched up in this tree safely out of their reach that doesn't mean it will stop them from climbing up if they notice me. I can't exactly jump from here and over the high fence that separates me from a safe night. Luffy was hopefully just sticking his head out to call for me, although I knew that was just being too unrealistically hopeful.

I had gotten restless. I was bored, I was selfish. I was so freaking curious. It has been well over a month since we've been at the base camp, and I haven't been able to do anything. That might have been another one of the causes for this little field trip. I could blame it on any one of those things for the fact that I was now outside, at night, by myself. I just couldn't help myself. A loose window in the girl's locker room was beckoning me to explore the outside grounds. Rebels trained out there and a few of the kids played on the playground. I was sure that I am allowed out there, but I had avoided detection all the same. I climbed a tree close to the fence and jumped, not even thinking that I wouldn't be able to get back in. I had such confidence in my resurfacing thieving skills that I hadn't thought twice of it. I was getting rather good at stealing again; no one noticed that I had even snuck meat back into my diet. I was supposed to be avoiding it in case it caused a relapse but I knew that wasn't the case. I had never had the urge to sink my teeth into one of my friends. Except maybe Zoro, but that's a different story all together.

This last month has been torture. This slow moving, little to no action lifestyle is nothing compared to the days when we were out at sea. Even a slow day on the ocean wasn't lonely. Here I've noticed that Luffy and the others get sent out on missions almost daily, and if they aren't doing that they are resting for their next one or are trying to figure out a way to get my sister back. I was lonely. Robin was gone during the day and most of the night, sometimes she would be gone for days. Everyone else was just as busy and the only real interaction I got with everyone was twice a day, since I have cut out lunch from my meal time.

Brook has made it a point to avoid me all together so I can't hound him. He awkwardly just tells me to leave it to him and pushes me off on Zoro, but most of the time he gets in when I'm away brooding.

And I feel so helpless. I can tell I'm back to normal but Chopper insists on keeping me away from the action, and wants me to rest. I've stopped the medication but from time to time I'll have a mild headache and go see Chopper just in case. I want to hide it but I do not want to relapse at any cost. It's infuriating and to my greater and further frustration still no memory of my past relationship with Zoro has come back or my time as an Other. That and besides sitting next to each other at mealtimes we haven't been alone in the same room together since I almost kissed him. I have a sneaking suspicion he's been avoiding me.

"NAAMMMIIIII!"

I want to growl under my breath but I know I can't. Can't Luffy shut the hell up? I obviously can't answer him…

_**BANG!**_

I gapped at the large hole in the once perfectly flat metal wall to the point where I almost fell out of my tree.

"You dumb ass!" I roared. Honestly he couldn't just open the gate? Didn't he know what a door was?

There was a horrible shrieking noise and suddenly a squabble of Others came leaping out of the woods and into the hole. I swore loudly and sent several clouds into the sky above the zombies. I could at least take care of them now. I hadn't been expecting the Others, they must've heard the noise from the zombies and had come to investigate. Everything seemed to slow down as Luffy emerged from the dusty cloud he had created. All of the Others that had rushed in flew into the trees with sickening thuds as Zoro and Sanji strolled out after him. It was always laughable how ridiculously strong those three were. I was starting to wonder why the hell we weren't done with this nightmare yet. I leapt down from my hiding spot and stormed up to my captain.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I snapped. "I would have been fin-"

I would have finished my sentence but my captain roughly shoved his hat on my head as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"We were worried… you idiot," he mumbled into my hair.

Oh right. I was the one that had been irresponsible. I felt a wave of guilt hit me harder than a ton of bricks and I fell into Luffy's arms all too willingly. My legs just couldn't support my weight anymore, but Luffy was always there to catch a friend when they fell.

"Sorry," I whimpered. "I'm just so frustrated. I want to save-"

For the second time in less than a minute I was interrupted but this time by a chilling laughter that I knew all too well. I went rigid in Luffy's arms as he clenched me tighter for a second. Memories came flooding back to me leaving me immobile and I fought the urge to faint. Luffy wouldn't let my freedom be taken away from me. I glanced over my shoulder to see him there. His blue skin had turned a lighter gray color, his eyes were red, he seemed to have shot up a few feet and towered over us even more than he had.

"Long time no see Nami," he laughed. I felt my blood boil, I would have leapt at him. I really would have, but Luffy's firm grasp held me back.

"Nami," he said crisply catching my attention. "I'll take care of him." I swallowed and nodded to show him that I heard him.

"Zoro," he barked. I felt rather than saw the swordsman step forward.

"Sanji," he paused before unlatching me from his arms and handing me to Sanji.

"Watch her, and guard this," he said gesturing back to the gaping hole he had left in the wall.

They didn't need to answer and without another word Luffy shot himself at Arlong with a furious shout.

"LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!"

I felt a few tears slip out of the corner of my eyes and I strangled a sob. I love my friends, I know they would all do whatever they could for me, and that this whole mess was mostly my fault anyways, but they were still standing behind me, still supporting me, and still fighting for me. In a matter of seconds the ferocity of the fight had Arlong stumbling back into the woods and out of sight with Luffy following hot on his trail.

I knew they were all mad at me but at the same time we are friends. Sanji didn't hold me obnoxiously close or take advantage of the situation. In fact as soon as I shifted to move he gently placed me down and glared into the darkness. I took a step away as he lit up a cigarette. I doubt either of them had much to say to me at the moment. I couldn't even explain my actions. I tried to find the words to ease the now very awkward silence that fell between the three of us.

There was a small quick chirp of a violin in the darkness and Brook emerged out of the woods.

"I thought I heard Luffy…" he said in greeting.

"He's fighting Arlong again," Sanji answered taking a large puff of his cigarette.

Again, not as in again from Arlong park but again for my sake. Again to keep me save and sound. Again to make me happy. Again to win my freedom. Again to get back something that I had lost. Again for who knows how many times it was now… all for me. God I'm a selfish bitch.

I chanced to peak at Zoro. His jaw was clenched, and two of his swords were drawn. He was staring off into the darkness, ever alert.

"Ah, well… She'll be here soon," Brook said.

For a split second I was confused and then all over again I was hit with an enormous sense of guilt that my knees started to buckle again.

"Please… Zoro," I whispered and took a step closer to him. His eye locked on me for a fraction of a second before looking away.

"You don't need to ask," he said roughly.

"It'll be alright Nami," Sanji told me reassuringly.

But before Zoro could bark at him, or Brook could interrupt with a perverted ill-timed joked, a twig snapped in the woods.

We all froze and turned our attention in the general direction.

Zoro grabbed my shoulder and forced me to sit down.

"Let us handle this," he growled lowly.

Out of the woods emerged my sister. She looked the same as always, but her head was cocked and an eerie smile plastered on her face. Her hair had grown out slightly from the normal short cut she wore it in. Her eyes were an icy blue and reflected in the moonlight. Her clothes were slightly tattered but they were intact enough to cover her up without exposing anything. Her arm lifted in a half wave as she saw me.

"Nami."

She was still at least a football field's distance away from me, and she couldn't have said my name any louder than a whisper but I heard it all the same. I wanted to feel disgust or fear or even anger at myself but nothing rose to the surface. I honestly just wanted to run into her arms and beg for her forgiveness, to forgive me for ever letting any of this to happen to her when she should be home, safe and sound, when she should be away from a bunch of zombie pirates.

A pit of coldness filled my stomach as I watched her take a few more steps forward. My sister was harmless; she had never wielded a weapon in her life. My sister was pure; my sister was my biggest supporter. My sister now facing down a bloodthirsty swordsman and a perverted cook and she had no clue what she was doing. Suddenly my friends weren't protecting me but endangering the life of someone I love.

Zoro shifted in front of me.

"Remember you trust me," he told me glancing over at me. There wasn't a reassuring smile or a sweet tone to his voice. It was just a quick blunt reminder.

I wanted to yell no. I wanted to hit him upside the head and run after my sister. I wanted to knock her out and shove one of Chopper's pills down her throat. The look in his eye kept me locked to my seat though, and then I remembered I did trust him. I trusted him with everything, including the one thing I had never even given away to anyone in my entire life. My heart.

Brook sat next to me with his legs crossed and somehow offered me a cup of tea. I have no clue how he managed to do so but I wasn't about to question the laws of physics or probability at the moment. I just wordlessly accepted it and placed it down in front of me. I let out a long slow breath.

"If you hurt one hair on her head-"

"You'll charge me a million berries. Ya ya," Zoro grumbled.

"I'm charging you that for interrupting me. Learn some manners," I hissed but it was half-hearted. Zoro had already sprung forward.

I was unable to move my eyes away from him as he seemed to dance around my sister. He was testing her for weaknesses and trying to get around behind her. My sister had never been so fast, and her brute strength was obvious when Zoro's swords would clank loudly when he blocked her kicks and wild punches. I was expecting to see blood until I realized that Zoro was using the back of his blades.

A loud shout tore my gaze away from Zoro and Nojiko.

"RUN NAMI!"

I turned, too slow, as a sharp kick was aimed at my head. I wasn't able to dodge it fully and my cheek was grazed sending me flying into the ground. Sanji's shout had alerted me in time to avoid a major head wound but I was still seeing stars. I could barely see him handling a few Others himself and Brook was in the midst of a one on one fight. I was on my own with this one. I was pinned roughly to the ground and I struggled to kick out at the beast. It was inhuman, this strength. It was like I was being pinned down by a building.

The cold blue eyes stared down into mine as a hand wrapped around my throat. I frantically kicked out and reached for my Clima Tact. If I could just zap it… or something. It seemed to know what I thought because it grabbed my weapon and chucked it into a random direction elsewhere. There was a flash in front of my eyes and the world seemed to swim as a memory overcame me.

"_Shar har har har, I've been searching everywhere for you Nami. Finally we can get back to making this world a better place for fishmen."_

_I didn't say anything, mostly because I knew refuting him now even with my superhuman strength could get me killed. I didn't nod though, or smile, or offer him any reassurance that I would cooperate. I was still fighting the urge to resist orders and find my friends. They were high up on the priority list for most wanted. We are a threat to them and their precious plan. It was best to keep an eye on Arlong and make sure he didn't stumble into them. He was stronger now more than ever, but I knew if I knocked out the chip they implanted on the back of his head he'd go back to being somewhat normal strength wise. As it was, it seemed he was resisting the chip drug himself. His talk of infecting other fishmen and eliminating humans was his main concern, and I was sure that wasn't what the government wanted. They wanted everyone enslaved; everyone to be mindless war machines so they could cover up the truth and do as they wished. _

_As far as I could tell mine was loose and I could pull it out easily, if I could cut open the skin behind my neck. I just wasn't sure what the after effects would do to me and I wanted to at least be safely away from Arlong before that happened. I heard a soft snap and my eyes shot up to the surrounding forest. I was on patrol around base for the government. So far I hadn't had to test my resistance to the chip drug, but now I was fighting the urge to shout out and tell Arlong there might be someone in the woods. I bit down hard on my tongue, to the point where I tasted blood. _

"_You smell delicious," Arlong laughed rounding around to face me. I could feel the blood dribbling out from my mouth and I fought the urge to tell him to screw off. I didn't dare open my mouth, terrified that I might say something beyond my control. "I've missed you Nami," he whispered. "Even if you betrayed me… I'll forgive you. You just have to join me again. You just have to make sure nothing stands in my way."_

_Arlong stood over me, his hand coming next to my cheek and pulling me closer to him. I fought the urge to scramble away from him as his sharp nose slide past and scrapped my cheek. I felt his hot tongue dance out to taste the blood near my lips. I could feel revulsion well up inside of me and just as I was about to bring up my knee a voice rang out in the clearing. _

"_Oi. Hands off our navigator."_

_I managed to lean on Arlong's side away from his hungry mouth to glare over my shoulder. That idiot. I had this handled. I should've known it would be him. _

"_Ah. I've been waiting. Where is your captain Straw Hat?"_

"_Doesn't matter where he is. I'm plenty to beat you," Zoro snapped wrapping his bandana around his head as he glared at me. It hurt to see him, it hurt to know that he thought I was a monster, that he couldn't trust me. It hurt to see him getting ready to fight to get me back. I had to think fast. I didn't want anyone fighting this monster. I heard the calm way he said Luffy's name and it all clicked. Arlong was resisting so he could get revenge on Luffy. He wanted to kill my captain and was more than likely helping plot a way to get him captured if he couldn't beat him. Arlong had never even mentioned Luffy or the others until now. I had been sure that he was blissfully unaware of them, but now it seemed he had ulterior motives in keeping his silence. He hadn't wanted me to catch on to him. _

_And I was sure this applied to the rest of my friends as well. To everyone that was affiliated with me so he could trap me again. So he could terrify me and show me how little life meant to him. So he could make sure I had no one to rely on and I would have to come back to him. _

"_What are you playing at Pirate Hunter?" I shouted out. I was hoping to draw their attention on me, and possibly fight Zoro myself. He might kill me, but at least I could give him enough time to escape Arlong. _

_He shot me a dirty look. _

"_You said you'd be back by sunset," he growled. "It's been 7 months."_

_I got the distinct impression that he had been searching for me and I felt my stomach drop uncomfortably. _

"_I said that back when I was a Straw Hat," I said tersely. How could I ever look at Luffy again and be able to tell him I was throwing away the freedom he fought so hard for away just to save him. Luffy would never accept that. Luffy was too strong to allow me to do this, but I had to try. I was sure the results otherwise would lead to someone's death and I couldn't live in a world without my friends. _

_I was very aware of how Robin must've felt when the government tried this with her. _

_Arlong slung his arm around my shoulder and laughed heartily. I fought the urge to look away from Zoro's tight expression. He was studying me, and he could always tell when I was lying. He had to know that this was similar. That I was afraid for him. _

"_You have to resign with the captain for anyone to recognize your decision," he said with a shrug. His glare turned back towards Arlong. _

"_I said hands off our navigator," he snapped. _

_Arlong sneered at him. _

"_And what are you going to do about it? Try and cut me?" _

_He shot forward with speed that I couldn't even follow with my Other eyes. I strangled a cry as Zoro caught his nose against two of his blades. _

_There weren't any words exchanged after that, but it was becoming clear fast that Arlong didn't have the upper hand. In fact they almost seemed evenly matched. This went on for several minutes as I stood there trying to think of ways I could possibly break up this fight before Zoro got hurt. _

"_NAAAAAAMMMMMMIIII!"_

_I winced as Luffy came trudging out of the undergrowth. He was panting and holding up a lantern which seemed oddly bright to me, it was like trying to look into the sun. He placed it down and his stretchy hands shot to Zoro and yanked him away from the fight. _

"_Excuse me Zoro! But he's mine," Luffy shouted as he launched himself at Arlong. _

_It was laughable how strong my captain is. Arlong wasn't even able to get in a single punch or bite, his resistance to Luffy however was ridiculous. Soon he had the rubber boy chasing him through the forest and the light of the early morning sun started to rise. Panicked I turned back to Zoro._

"_I have to go now. Next time bring Chopper. He might be able to figure out how to subdue me."_

"_What? Nami you can't just-"_

"_I am not in control Zoro!" I snarled. I punched a tree and we both watched in daze as the stump cracked and swayed dangerously. The sky was turning a bright red and I panicked. _

_Zoro's hand shot out to grab me. His skin felt burning hot against mine. _

"_Leave it to us," he mumbled lowly. I strangled a sob and I couldn't turn to face him. I desperately wanted to wrap my arms around him, but I couldn't risk anymore time outside. The sun was about to rise. With a gentle jerk I pulled my wrist out of his grasp. I didn't even look over my shoulder to wave off Zoro as I shot back into the shadowy depths of the forest. I had to get back to base. _

_I had to keep on believing that they would find me again. I had to keep leaving it up to them. _

I gasped as the Other's grip loosened slightly. The ice blue eyes peered at me with concern and I could see a flicker of consciousness ebbing through the clouded eyes. Suddenly the beast was kicked off me and Sanji stood over me panting. I was thankful that this Other wasn't a girl.

"Run!" he hissed through gritted teeth. I didn't hesitate. I shot off the ground, snapped up my Clima Tact, and dashed into the woods. I probably ran a lot further than I should have. I ran until my lungs were burning and the pinkness in the sky faded into the bright blue of morning. I ran without much direction but I knew exactly where I was.

I wasn't at all surprised when I bumped into Luffy. He must've been chasing Arlong back to base, but this was the exact clearing we had been in my memory. I wasn't surprised that Luffy was pissed at me either.

"What the hell Nami," he growled when he saw me coming out of the woods.

"Oh hi Luffy nice to see you too," I growled lowly. His eyes narrowed at me, and his lip curled back slightly.

"I told you to leave him to me. I don't care if you think you're strong enough for him. You're my friend and I told you to let me take care of him for you," he hissed.

That humbled me for a long moment. I could only stand there and fumble over thoughts in my mind. Luffy's simple ways was always a shock, although it shouldn't be. I should have known he would have thought of something stupid like that when he saw me.

"I wasn't coming to take your fight…" I started lamely.

"Then why the hell did you leave? What were you thinking? We were worried sick about you-"

"I'm sorry," I interrupted but I could feel anger bubbling inside me. "I don't exactly like you guys treating me like I'm useless. I'm still Nami. I still have plans to help make you the King of the Pirates and I still want to make a map of the world."

I have no clue why I said that. It sounded incredibly lame even to my own ears but it seemed to give Luffy pause.

"You aren't useless Nami. You're just under doctor's orders to get some rest."

These weren't Chopper's orders but some other stupid doctor in a clinic back at the school. Although, Chopper hadn't really refute them for my sake, and he even agreed with them to a certain extent.

"That guy isn't my doctor," I said smugly. Luffy grinned widely at me.

"Welcome back Nami."

I felt a wide grin spread across my face.

"Let's head back," I offered and started to lead the way back towards our camp. I refrained from calling him an idiot. I would get plenty of time later, and I'm sure he would give me plenty of excuses but right now I didn't want to hear him whine. He hummed a song under his breath as we trudged our way back. The sun was starting to rise, and I was surprised at how short the night had felt. Still we were in the woods so I tried to keep us in open patches of light and away from the darker shadows of the forest. The last thing I want is for us to be ambushed.

I was surprised at how long it took to get back to the school. While running had maybe taken me around 20 minutes it took us well into midday to make it back. Although the area was surprisingly hilly and steeper than I remembered, that might have contributed to it as well.

I cringed at the patched up messed fence that was in place of Luffy's giant hole. Zoro and Sanji were at the main gate talking to a couple of rebels as we reappeared.

Sanji smiled and was immediately at my side.

"Great news Nami~" he sang as he spun around me.

I already knew what it was. They had my sister back. I flung myself into Sanji's arms elated at the news and enjoying my friend's easy company. I really hadn't even thought of it, but the next thing I knew Zoro was stomping away, Luffy was frowning at me, and Sanji was on the ground with a severe nose bleed.

But at the moment I didn't care, I was already racing towards the infirmary. I was racing towards my sister.

* * *

**A/N: **_There wasn't much Zoro in this chapter... hmmm. Don't worry. He'll be a thorn in your side soon enough. :p. And no that wasn't a LuNa moment... although I am a fan of the couple... I was shooting for the fantastic friendship Luffy offers. Don't worry! I'm guessing this story will be about 10 to 15 chapters at least somewhere in that range. Also I'm debating on putting up a Deleted Scene chapter. Where things that aren't making the story that have been cut out and placed, I'm thinking of doing a blooper reel type of thing (it consists of mostly humorish things). Possibly I'll make this into its own one-shot. What do you guys think? I have a poll up on my page if you guys feel like voting. Well... We are almost reaching a conclusion my friends... at least I am. I'm way ahead of writing than I am with posting. :p. Until next time!_


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N: **_Quick note. I've decided to up the rating to _**M**_. The sole reason being that I swear too much and I say fuck too often in this story. No lemon! Other than that this story is pretty clean! Back to the good stuff. Enjoy~!_

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Eight**

"Chopp-"

"No Nami. You were the exception because we had no other choice but to house you with us to keep a better eye on you. You can't see your sister. I'm sorry, but her reaction might be too strong. Without the chip she is more Zombie like than an Other, and her instincts won't tell her that you are her family until it is too late."

"It's my sister-"

"I care Nami. Trust me I do. It's just… it was different with you. You were hit in the back of the head and the chip was shattered against your skull… we can't trust that her reaction will be as calm as yours."

I don't think I had heard that piece of information before and it gave me pause. It gave Chopper just enough time to draw up his full height and get a complete advantage over me by securely blocking the doorway. I hissed and tried to push past him. I could see her foot hanging out of her blanket, I could see the restraining chain tied from her ankle to her bed, but it still meant nothing to me. I still wanted to be by her side. Chopper's large fuzzy body blocked my way. I glared up at him and I was slightly surprised that he didn't shrink back from me. Chopper had always been so worried about what others thought of him, unless he was treating a patient, he would never have been able to actually resist me. I didn't take advantage of Chopper ever, I knew how he worked, but at this moment I wish his character was a little weaker and he would crack to let me pass.

"So you mean I didn't purposely forget you guys to protect you?" I questioned.

The memory that I had back when that Other had me on death's doorstep had felt like I was very aware of who my friends were. I was just able to fight off the instinct to find them. I felt my heart swell a bit, glad that I had the strength to be strong enough for that. I hadn't to forgotten them to protect them. It felt like a small weight was lifted off my shoulders.

"You were beating yourself up so hard… We couldn't stand to see you like that. I'm really sorry Nami but at the time-"

"It's fine Chopper," I cut him off. I gave him a half-smile to show him I really was alright with it. Besides, I was more concerned with seeing my sister than what had happened to me in the past. I made a last-ditch effort to surge past him but he seemed to predict that and caught my arm roughly. I was practically howling at him now.

A different doctor poked his head out of the room to see what the fuss was. When he saw me his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't you think you caused enough trouble for one day?" he snapped before closing the door sharply behind him. I winced and Chopper glared at the door disapprovingly.

"Look Nami…" he sighed gently leading me away from the door that separated me and my sister and into the waiting room. "I've been working on the medicine I used with you. I have successfully managed to bring back a few Other's with it in a shorter amount of time but they all had to be contained at first. But at the rate I am going I might even be able to bring back a couple of Zombies," he smiled sheepishly.

"That's great," I told him, and I beamed. I was sincerely happy for Chopper. I knew that curing people and being able to fix any health problem was of course his goal, but bringing back people from the dead was a dream he had long ago squandered. And zombies were dead, at least that was what impression we were all under.

"But a shorter amount of time is still a few weeks. She might still have her memory. We won't know until she wakes up. It has been hit or miss with the other few that have been awakened. Some tend to seem a bit more forgetful and one is already back with a small group just west of here," he paused to see how I took the news before he took a deep breath to continue, "I just don't want to chance you being hurt in the process," he told me.

He was still in his human form and he towered over me. I tried not to let it intimidate me but I knew better than to think I was going to be able to see my sister immediately now. At least she was safe. I could manage that for a few days. I knew it wouldn't stop me for the full time, and I'm sure Chopper did too, but for now it pacified me.

"I understand," I mumbled.

"Good. Go get some lunch. I could hear your stomach down the hall earlier when you first came up," he teased.

"I'll grab you some too," I told him and waved him off as I strode out of the room.

I rounded the corner and sighed. I had to lean against the wall for a moment. It almost hurt me physically to be that close to her and not be able to be in the same room. I just wanted the reassurance to see that she was okay with my own two eyes. We might be a little different at times but she was always there for me. She was always my big sister and she always would be.

I was just about to straighten up when suddenly Zoro was leaning against the opposite wall glaring at me with a ferocity I had never seen on his face before. It took my breath away to see the feral anger so close to the surface. If I hadn't already been leaning against the wall I'm sure my legs would have shaken in nervousness.

"What the hell was that about?" he snapped.

My thoughts immediately jumped to the hug I had shared with the cook a few hours before only to see Zoro storming away angrily. Was he jealous? No. Zoro couldn't possibly be jealous of Sanji and of a small thing like a hug. Could he?

"I was just-"

"Save your bullshit, Nami. Why didn't you trust me?"

Oh thank god this wasn't about Sanji. I let out a slow breath and tried to keep my voice from shaking.

"I don't-"

"I said save your bullshit," he snapped. I would have jumped if I had been standing up right.

"Well if you'd stop interrupting me and trying to jump down my throat every time I opened my mouth then maybe I would be able to give you an answer you'd like to hear," I snapped coolly.

"What, you don't like getting a taste of your own medicine?" he sneered. He pushed himself off the wall and stalked towards me on my end. I braced myself against my wall for a second before pushing off and crossing my arms stubbornly across my chest.

"A taste of my own medicine? At least I have common courtesy to let people finish their sentences," I snapped. Okay that might be a lie, I cut my friends off all the time but normally it was for their own good. Zoro snorted in response. He was practically leaning over me now and although he only had a few inches on me he seemed to tower above me. My stomach lurched uncomfortably and my vision blurred. I felt my eyes flutter shut as the familiar sense of a memory overtook me.

_In all the time I have spent with Zoro never once did he start the kisses between us. He might have confessed his feelings first, in a very bold way, in front of the entire crew but he still seemed to shy away from kissing me. I was the one that threw myself at him like a complete wanton when no one was around. I was starting to wonder if it was too much for him. _

_Right now though I didn't feel like kissing him. Sure he was good at responding but I want to __**be**__ kissed. I didn't want to leave with this sharp tension between us though. It was thick enough for a sword to cut. So I stalled, I took a lot of time doing absolutely nothing. I knew he would come find me again, I knew he would be all pissed off and demand that I at least take Luffy with me, or even Sanji. _

_Zoro didn't care if I had Robin with me. It wasn't sexist of him; it was just that he along with everyone else on the crew was a bit more protective of us. I don't blame him. After being kidnapped multiple times and Robin being kidnapped by the World Government I don't blame any of the Straw Hats for wanting to keep a closer eye on us. _

_I think it was extra unnerving for him that we were going into a very dangerous situation and they wouldn't be able to react fast enough as backup. _

_So I was fully expecting him to blow up on me as soon as he cornered me. That and I might have purposely wrecked a romantic plan of his. I don't care that we've been together for over a year now, I still find romantic gestures unnerving. It doesn't fit my image of Zoro, and I like to pretend that no one on the crew knows about us. I just don't want things to change. _

_Well he found me, alone by my locker. I quickly snapped it shut as he came striding up to me. _

"_You-"_

"_Your breath is wasted on this Zoro. It's a fool-proof plan," I cut him off. It was best to cut him off before too much steam could build with him. But most of the time it only further infuriated him that he couldn't get a word in edge wise. It made for great sex later though. _

"_Nothing is ever fool-proof," he growled lowly. He seemed to tower above me and I felt myself edge away from him until my shoulders hit the cool metal lockers behind me. I would have flinched if I wasn't so focused not to break my glare. _

"_I'll be back by sundown. I really don't see why you're fretting so much. I sneak around all the time."_

_He remained silent and I could hear his teeth clenching together tightly. He was furious. He seemed to have a bad feeling about this mission and he hadn't been exactly quiet about his doubt. I, of course, threw it back in his face that he didn't trust me. I guess things just sort of escalated from there. We haven't had a big fight in months and everything was crashing down around us. _

"_You swear?" he whispered lowly. _

_I felt sort of flabbergasted that he was for once swallowing his pride and holding me to my word. Zoro was full of surprises; he wasn't nearly as predictable as the rest of us on our crew. Even Luffy's sheer stupidity could be foreseen most times. I nodded my head as his hand slipped behind my neck and his other hand grabbed the pocket of my jeans. I smirked up at him realizing he was trying to discreetly check my pockets. _

"_You won't find it there," I chuckled. _

_He shrugged as he tugged me closer. My hips hit his rather roughly and he smirked as he leaned closer to me. I must've had that stupid surprised look all over my face. _

_His lips came crashing down on mine with a gentle urgency. Honestly I have never been kissed like this. His lips were warm, soft, everything that Zoro was, and yet he was kissing me at a pace that was leaving me breathless and my head swimming. That and the combined anticipation of waiting for him to actually start a kiss between us-_

Zoro was still standing over me, a searching look in his eyes.

"I told Chopper I'd grab us some lunch," I said quickly as I ducked under his arm.

"Oh no you don't," Zoro growled as his hand shot around my wrist. "I saw that look. You remembered something about us," he stated roughly.

I was tempted to say 'so what' but I was slightly concerned that might hurt his feelings. Which meant I was recognizing that he actually had them. Instead I kept my silence and offered him a weak glare.

"How's the weather today?"

He sputtered before practically snarling at me, which had me backing into the wall again to get some steady support for my quaver legs. I think it was partly exhaustion on my end from the long night and day before.

"You were the one outside all night. You should know-"

"Then you should know too," I hissed. Honestly I have no clue what spurred my rapid- okay… I'm lying. I totally know why I'm running away from my feelings. It is the one thing I know how to do. I have an inkling that the most amount of affection I showed Zoro during our whole relationship in front of the others was me sitting beside him at meals. I am scared that this might change it. I am scared that I might want something more.

Because honestly (now) I really don't think I can handle it when I feel like-

"Yes Nami. I get it. You're terrified of me. You're scared that I might leave if you don't bribe the hell out of me. You're scared that you nag me too much or show too much affection. I. Don't. Care," he hissed the last part and instead of a snake I was reminded of a tiger's rumbling growl with each sharp pronunciation of what he hissed.

"Who the hell said I am scared of you?" I snapped.

"News flash Nami. I've already admitted to you that I feel something for you and that we are in a relationship. Ever hear of pillow talk?"

I couldn't decide if I was offended by the fact that he still considered us in a relationship or really flattered. He had the Straw Hat loyalty down to a pat. His last comment though had me blushing. I was right then, we definitely had sex. It made the familiarity thing between us that much easier to grasp, but strangely enough I didn't feel like that was what mattered out of this. What mattered was that he was reaching out to me. A very unZoro like thing to do in a very hot-tempered way instead of his usual emotionless bluntness. Or maybe this is how he was with me.

"What do you want Zoro?" I growled feeling exasperated. This was going to get us nowhere fast. I was going to be stubborn and refuse to admit things to him, because even with his proclamation I didn't feel like letting my guard down. I hadn't really thought in-depth of _what I_ felt for the swordsman, just that I liked the nervous tingle in my spine when he was around.

His black eyes seemed to bore into me as the silence consumed us. His eyebrow cocked in a typical Zoro way, expectantly waiting for me to realize something. He grunted before releasing his grip on me.

"You made me promise once to never give you up."

I blushed. The promises between couples were much different from the promises between friends or family. A couple could shatter, break and then all promises wouldn't be held effective.

"I don't break my promises," he growled lowly. Apparently to Zoro a promise was a promise, but that I knew already.

I shivered when I realized he had whispered it into my ear. I hadn't even notice him leaning closer to me. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears that I stubbornly blinked back. That stupid brute must've stolen that line from Sanji or something. I was just about to protest as he turned on his heel and marched off.

"Where are you going?" I called after him. I felt rather lost leaning against the wall. I felt suddenly a lot colder. My cheeks were flushed and my breathing was rather accelerated. My blood felt like it was burning with either rage or embarrassment, possibly both. I couldn't even begin to describe what my heart was doing. He had just undone my composure in a matter of minutes, with a few simple sentences. I guess that was one of the things I like about him. He isn't brilliant but he's smarter than what I normally give him credit for and it surprises me in good ways… most times.

"I promised I would help fix that hole our idiot of a Captain made to make sure we can last another night here," he barked over his shoulder.

He didn't owe me any explanation but I did feel slightly better that he wasn't storming off because he was pissed off at me. I felt slightly better that he seemed to have a little understanding of the situation.

I am still terrified though. These feelings were all so new but they feel so familiar. There was suddenly a pit in my stomach that hadn't been there earlier that squeezed tightly and a space in my chest seemed to throb uncomfortably. It hit me then that I really longed for sleep much more than I wanted some lunch. I really want to sort out all of these _feelings_.

I managed to stumble into the lunch room. I lazily pocketed an apple and munched on it as I headed back to Chopper with his tray of food. I barely remember walking back to the office. I paused slightly at the place where Zoro and I had just been talking. It seemed to hold a significant memory for me now. I doubt I'd be forgetting that any time soon.

Stupid, over reacting, romantic, swordsman! Who the hell did he think he was? Acting all caring and not being the Zoro I knew at all. But then again… who was the Zoro I knew? Even in my faint memories of him he was still the same. He was still a short-tempered, blunt, jerk. He was still stupid, he still cared too much but showed none of it, he still supported the entire crew when everyone needed it, and he still put his life on the life for everyone when he fought. He is still Zoro. And I'm not exactly sure when I fell in love with him the first time but I was starting to think that maybe these feelings had never really gone away for me. I might actually still just love him so deeply that I have no choice in the matter but to keep on loving him even without my memory. Or maybe I'm overreacting like a stupid love struck teenage girl AGAIN and trying to fabricate all of this to explain how I was reacting. What the hell is wrong with me?

I guess I was muttering under my breath a little too loudly outside of his office because Chopper worriedly tugged on my sleeve, bringing me back to earth, so to speak. He must've heard me and come out to see what was up.

"Are you okay Nami?" he asked, his tiny voice immediately catching my attention.

"A while back Zoro told me he loved me," I shot at him giving him an accusing stare. I was careful to use the past tense because honestly I didn't know what to do about his present feelings.

Chopper growled and snatched the tray from my hands.

"I told him not to do anything stressful like that. That freaking bastard," the small doctor was growling lowly under his breath.

"But I don't mind knowing," I said quietly. I wasn't sure why I just blurted that out, but I was sure the lack of sleep and exhaustion was quickly catching up with me. I wasn't even sure why I brought it up with the doctor. I just think that I was finally ready to actually talk about it and since the person I wanted to talk to was unavailable, and I had no clue where Robin was, Chopper was my next best choice. Chopper ignored me as he took a rough bite out of his pizza. He was starting to mutter to himself. He fidgeted and turned his violent intent on the poor juice box I had unwittingly supplied him with.

"I heard him talking to you in the hall I knew I should have interrupted. I told him to stay away if he was going to be an idiot-"

"Chopper I really don't care that he has told me that… I just don't know what to do…"

He paused in his violent attempt to stab his juice box with the pointy end of his straw to give me a questioning look.

"You used to get so pissed at him back before when he expressed anything like-"

"Things are obviously a bit different now," I offered weakly interrupting him.

He hurriedly stabbed his juice box and took several long gulps before sighing. His gaze shifted to me almost nervously. He sighed before gesturing to one of his beds.

"Nami… you know I'm not good at this emotional stuff," he said his cheeks turning red. He didn't need to add that it was also with me, and he saw me as his big sister and Zoro as his big brother. The one good thing about all this memory crap was that he didn't have to give us an embarrassing lecture about using contraceptives every time we came into his office and I felt hope surge though me as I remembered that. Things seemed to keep flowing more and more naturally, without weird pauses or much thought on my end.

"Why don't you lie down for a while? You had a long night," he fumbled with the sheets when I remained rooted to my spot.

"Can I just ask you something first?"

The silence in the air was enough to let me know that he was waiting patiently. I stole my breath and tried to swallow the knot that was now in my throat.

"Did I love him back half as much?"

Chopper's eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement.

"You never told me that Nami."

I could feel my face falling into a frown as Chopper chuckled a little more.

"What's so funny?" I snapped feeling suddenly agitated that I had even bothered to bring up such a trivial personal question.

"Why don't you sleep on it and see if you can come up with an answer?" he challenged instead. He was smirking but at least now he was trying to hide it as he turned his back to fidget with the sheets of the bed he was offering. "These hospital beds are much more comfortable than those cots-"

He had me sold on that. I dove under the covers, feeling quiet childish, before he could finish his sentence. I was out like a light before he could even get another word in edge wise.

()()()()()()()()()()

I woke feeling like someone had just been touching me. Not like the inappropriate way but in a way that was comforting and left me yearning for more. Just brushing my bangs out of my face or something else of that nature. I couldn't exactly pinpoint where but my body was telling me that I had definitely been touched.

Or maybe it was that strangely lucid dream I had that contained a certain swordsman. We had done nothing, just laid in bed and talked. I could even feel soreness in my hand from punching him hard in the shoulder when he laughed too much at something that I didn't find remotely amusing.

It had just been a dream though. Hadn't it? Why was I suddenly missing the feeling of rolling over and having an arm drape over me protectively?

I scoffed as I roughly pushed the blankets off myself. Obviously this had just been because Chopper and I had talked about the sensitive subject right before I had fallen asleep. But I had a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that maybe that was something real… and I missed it. I missed something that I don't even remember having.

I sat up almost too quickly before noticing that it was dark and that I had slept through the day. My stomach rumbled painfully as I kicked my legs over the bedside.

I haven't really had the chance to eat, and besides my weak snack on the apple earlier I couldn't remember when the last time I ate was. Deciding to take a risk and bumping into Luffy at the refrigerator I made my way back towards the kitchens to steal some food. I had just my socks on and my jacket was missing but other than that I was fully clothed. I would have to thank Chopper for having the sense to take those off of me earlier while I was passed out. I don't remember shrugging them off. The padding my socks provided let me sneak much more effectively down the hall, not that I need any help with that matter.

I was about to round the corner and push into the kitchen blindly when I heard something. It sounded like the clanking of a bottle and immediately I knew that I could either turn around pretend I had no clue who was on the other side of the door or I could go in and join him. My hand reached out for the door before I could even process it. I stumbled into the room; I stood in the doorway frozen in place at the reaction of my traitorous body.

Zoro didn't even look up as he dug a little deeper into the contents of the fridge.

"There isn't any booze," he grumbled.

"Figures that would be the reason you come to the kitchen in the middle of the night," I growled. I was still rooted to the spot. The swinging door flung back and nudged me forward ever so slightly as if it wanted to prod me further into the room. I swallowed nervously and hopped up on the counter next to the fridge.

"Why else would I be here?" he asked dully. He popped open a bottle which must've contained soda and took a deep swig from it.

"Well I doubt Franky is going to be happy that you are dipping into his cola," I told him drily.

He shrugged. He turned around and pulled a plate out from the fridge and handed it to me without a word. I smiled as he pulled back the foil that had been keeping the food fresh. He then pulled out a fork and took a big bite out of my food.

"Hey!" I protested and leaned forward to grab it from him.

His smile turned wickedly flirtatious as he held it out of my reach. Pouting I placed the plate roughly down next to me and lunged for his arm. I successfully managed to wrestle it away from him with ease. It was actually too easy, and I knew at once he had let me win. I ignored the gut feeling to say something smug to him and dug into my food letting the silence consume us. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but there was weight to it. I could feel it dancing in the air around us.

"We have to leave in the morning," he said quietly. I chanced to look up at him and regretted it. He looked so mad. His jaw clenched and his good eye narrowed at the opposite wall. I knew that this was my fault. That we had to leave because of my little stunt from yesterday and going into the woods. I can't say I regret it though, if anything seeing his anger brought out a small bubble of my own. I could feel the familiar heat rising in my stomach and the rage making my fist clench. We were about to fight, I could feel it in my bones.

"It was bound to happen anyways," I grumbled lowly under my breath.

"Has Chopper told you that his drug only takes a day to work now in some cases? That he can do some shit with it and it can be put into the air?"

"What?"

"Has Chopper-"

"You don't need to repeat yourself I heard you," I snapped before hesitating, "but no he hasn't told me that."

"Before you left-" I winced but Zoro continued on without taking notice "- the revolutionaries were after a machine that could get rid of the government's drug. You sent Robin back with half of the blue prints that could build it. Franky has been building prototypes ever since."

"Chopper is creating the drug they need to heal everyone…" I was starting to put all the pieces together. I was only mildly surprised that Zoro was filling me in. There was a reason to all this information.

"If we leave tomorrow all hell is going to break loose. Franky's model isn't one hundred percent-"

"Are you asking me what I think you are asking me?" I cut him off before he could lamely or bluntly pose his question to me.

There was a long thick silence between us and this time it was uncomfortable before Zoro took a deep breath.

"Yes," he growled slowly.

"I can't do it," I said easily without so much as a single thought. I had failed so miserably last time.

I hopped down from the counter and opened the fridge. I was hoping for some milk but all that met my gaze was several bottles of cola, juice boxes, and water bottles. I picked up a harmless water bottle and unscrewed the cap. I made sure to take several deep gulps and I kept my back to the swordsman. I could feel his anger.

"You're supposed to be the dirty thief-"

"Yet look at all I have stolen since I've been 'awakened'," I mocked loudly. I was starting to fume but I knew I had to keep my wits about. There was always something about Zoro that worked me up and got rid of all clear and rational thought. He just rubbed me the wrong way. Everything about him did when I was angry. From the way he scowled to his stupid green hair, to the arrogant way he crossed his arms over his chest, he pissed me off.

"I know you went back to that base. I know you made it there and back without a single glitch. I know you did it simply to test yourself-"

"Shut up!" I hissed slamming the fridge door and rounding around to glare at him.

"You're scared-"

"I said. Shut. Up!" I jabbed my finger roughly into his chest with each syllable.

"What now you suddenly decide you hate being called a coward?"

"I'm not a coward. I just get scared," I glowered.

"You're being a coward. You're tucking your tail in between your legs like you always do and you're hiding behind Luffy so he can fight for you-"

"Who the hell said I was making Luffy fight? If you haven't noticed that idiot likes to run off into battle-"

"He's doing it FOR YOU!" Zoro roared.

His face was dangerously close, and I realized I had backed up against the fridge. I was clutching the water bottle so tightly that I had cracked it and water was leaking onto the floor and soaking my socks. I didn't give a rat's ass about it. I was panting hard and Zoro was too. Both of his hands were pinned down roughly at his sides and he looked like he really wanted to punch the closest wall to him.

"I know," I suddenly felt really weak but I refused to let my legs wobble. I scowled at the sound of my voice softening before glaring at Zoro with what I hoped was renewed force.

"I'll talk to him in the morning-"

"And what? Do you think he'll just stop fighting? Luffy won't stop fighting until he feels like you are back with us one hundred percent-"

"I am back. You guys brought me back-"

"Yet you're still running off and trying to think of ways to do this on your own."

"Did you honestly think that part of me would ever change?"

"It did change. You're back to the Nami before you were with us. You don't trust us all the way-"

"I think you mean I don't trust you all the way," I bit out coldly. We both winced at my words, and instantly I wished I could take them back. I had proved I trusted everyone else, and that the feeling was mutual among everyone else. At least that was what I thought.

"Fine. Explain your coordinates to Robin. We'll go get that machine in the morning-"

"Who the hell said I was going to cooperate? I'm going to get that thing-"

"I thought you said you weren't going to go, coward," he bit out harshly. I flinched.

"I said I wasn't going to do what you asked me to do. You were going to ask me to stay behind again."

Silence was my answer and I knew I had been right. Here he was thinking that he had me cornered and that he had tricked me. He was such a freaking idiot sometimes.

"I can't let you go-"

"Like hell you are going to stop me-"

The light flickered on and we both froze momentarily blinded.

"I see that you've remembered how to read your map hmmm Nami-doll?"

Just fucking great.

* * *

**A/N:** _I'm nervous about this chapter and all that comes with it... I'm still struggling with the next chapter so I hope all of you that do review, read, and follow this story, won't be disappointed with my next few chapters (or the fact that it might take me a bit longer to update at this point). I find myself always struggling at this point in the story and second guessing myself. I hate writing endings... and yes I'm leading up to one. Anyways, I would like to thank every one who has reviewed for their continued support- and yes that is the cliché line you get when you hit the submit button on a review ;). _


	9. Chapter Nine

**A/N: **_If you guys are like me with school it's nice to have a pleasant distraction once finals are over. :p. Enjoy~_

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Nine**

I glared across the table at Zoro. This is his fault. Although part of it was my fault from the day before now it was confirmed that I had in fact been to the government base during my _absence_ yesterday. Still that stupid egg head couldn't have been quieter or never more sensible while arguing with me? Why the hell did he even turn it into an argument? He should have known better than to ask me to stay behind. Wasn't it practically Straw Hat code to be able to put your life on the line? Not stupidly, of course, but it was a risk that had to be made every time during a fight or striving for a goal. We all knew the dangers of being pirates, we all knew that each fight we had could be our last, and we all walked into that every time. But we all had the confidence that it wouldn't be our last fight every time, because we can't fail. We can't fail with a captain like Luffy. We can't fail when we haven't reached our dreams yet; we can't fail when we are stronger than our opponents or cleverer or if we have more resolve.

So how dare that stupid jerk try and ask that of me? How dare he tell me that I shouldn't put my life on the line all the while acting like he was mad that I might be a bit of a chicken? And again how dare he call me a coward? I gritted my teeth and aimed a sharp kick at his shin from under the table. He hissed under his breath, his good eye flickering to me briefly before he scoffed under his breath.

"Very mature."

I growled in response. I shifted in my seat and folded my hands neatly in front of me on top of the table. I trained my gaze on to my hands mostly to keep myself from glaring at Zoro, it wasn't getting me anywhere fast.

"When they come in-"

"You do all the talking," he finished in a bored tone cutting me off. I was going to protest but decided against it, he was right that was what I had been about to tell him. I huffed out in annoyance.

It was as if we had been captured together before. Although… this didn't really count as being captured. This was some type of interrogation and I was in trouble. I refrained from sighing and rubbing my temples in frustration. I needed to stay composed. Whenever they walked back through that door I was going to be grilled with questions, and it would be a huge waste of time. My skills were needed out on the field now, not squandered away in an interrogation room.

My eyes flickered to Zoro and I had to keep myself from kicking him in the shin again. He looked pretty damned pleased with himself, like he was glad that it had turned out this way. Screw suppressing shit, I was livid.

"You freaking jackass," I snarled.

"You know most of this is your fault too-"

"If you hadn't acted all high and mighty like I was beneath you-"

"I never said any of that. You have a tendency to overreact and I was trying to-"

"Try to what? Use reverse phycology on me? If that was the case then I still would have gone-"

"For the love of- would you shut up already? I was just trying to protect you," he hissed slamming one first roughly against the table and causing me to jump in my seat. My eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No! You… you lazy, arrogant, jerk! If you were trying to protect me you would just insist on staying at my side-"

"Like you would let me to do that. You act like you have something to prove-"

"I DO!" I snapped.

I was standing now and leaning over the table. My arms shook dangerously underneath me and I tried not to pant out. I was trying to look calm and collected… that wasn't working out so well. I huffed and sat back down roughly avoiding his searching gaze. I lazily grabbed a strand of hair and studied it. I frowned to myself that I just so happened to grab the silver strand of hairs, but I couldn't help but notice with dazed fascination that it seemed to shimmer differently than the rest of my hair in the low light. It didn't really hold my attention away from the swordsman but it was better than nothing.

He sighed drawing my attention for a brief second. He leaned over the table and gently pulled my hand down so that my palm rested in his. He looked so relaxed it was unnerving. I wasn't sure how he could go from being that pissed off to suddenly being so soft and gentle with me. I didn't flinch or pull back though. I let him trace small patterns against my skin and I was slightly surprised that my body was starting to relax along with him. My shoulders slumped and I leaned forward as if to get closer to him without really realizing what I was doing. I would have blushed, but I was still mad… it was an odd sensation. I was pissed, in fact I'm still livid but there was a serene sort of acceptance in this silence between us.

"I'm just having a hard time letting you go back. I couldn't find you last time," his voice was hard and I could hear his anger. It calmed me more to see that he hadn't softened or changed just because he was soothingly stroking my hand. This was far from being behind us.

"I'll be fine. Last time was my fault. I wasn't ready to see Arlong and I wasn't about to endanger Robin as well. I had to act fast and causing a diversion was the only way. I thought I would be able to make it out of the window at the end of the hall in time but I was wrong. I got cornered."

"What if you get cornered again?"

"Well I highly doubt we're going to be following the same plan as last time. Plus I know the layout of the base now."

"So you were scouting?"

"No. I remembered it," I said stiffly.

I did remember. The point of my little field trip the day before was to test my memory. I had been out and I had gone_ into_ the base without a problem, I was virtually undetected. None of the government, the Others, or the zombies had been any the wiser until I left. I had stayed too long and the sun had started to sink in the horizon. At night it was safe for zombies and Others to come out without the risk of burning their flesh. It was the reason I had to wear a jacket when I had been awakened, and why I had to flee Zoro all those months ago. Even if Chopper's drug had worked I would have been severally burned and possibly been unable to recover from that injury without treatment. I would still be bed ridden. And zombies and Others were just the same, they had a healthy dose of fear of the sun. It was painful for them but they could still function and they could still go out on missions after being burned. I had just been so excited that I was being useful that I had stupidly failed to notice the sun starting to sink on the horizon until it was too late. I had made it about halfway back to the school when I bumped into a small group of zombies that had followed me. I had led them through the woods on a wild goose chase but a few had remained hot on my trail. Which now led to this whole mess and fight that I was currently having with Zoro. It was all my fault but I'd be damned if I just sat here and let him point all the blame on me. We had to leave this school? So what? It wasn't like our home or anything. Sunny is our home.

Zoro's hand gripped mine with a little more force. It wasn't painful but it was enough to pull me out of my thoughts. His brow was still creased in a scowl and his posture hadn't changed at all. He opened his mouth, probably to protest something or further argue with me but the door opened.

"Ah, Zoro. Nami," Luffy greeted as he strode into the kitchen. I half expected Zoro to drop my hand but if anything he just looked more annoyed that Luffy was here and squeezed my hand.

"Luffy," we both greeted crisply. Our captain frowned in confusion as he made his way past us and opened the fridge. He grumbled something about there not being any meat before he pulled out something that looked suspiciously like cake and sat down next to me.

"That old guy asked me for a favor again," Luffy said as he stuffed his face. He chewed loudly and made a few noises of contentment.

"But we all know I'm crap at stealing stuff or sneaking around. Nami I need you to come with me," he continued as he swallowed and turned to give me a sideways glance. There was a hint of seriousness behind the light smile he offered me.

"Is there any treasure?" I asked hopefully. Luffy's grin widened at me as he licked the crumbs off his plate.

"I think the old guy offered me some for when we get that mystery machine for him, but I told him I don't like being paid. I'm a pirate. I don't get paid to do jobs."

"Luffy," I growled irritated, "you should have accepted the payment you dumb ass. How the hell are we supposed to keep feeding you with that bottomless pit you call a stomach without any money?" I smacked him upside his head as he laughed heartily at me.

"Did he at least offer you some booze?" Zoro quipped. I glanced down at our joined hands and tried not to blush.

"He said we could have a banquet afterwards-"

"That's a form of payment," I hissed hitting him upside the head again. Luffy's laughter grew louder.

"Well at least this way you don't have to worry about money for the banquet Nami," he said cheerfully rubbing the back of his head. "You and Zoro can kiss again as long as you don't make Sanji throw up."

"What the hell-"

I froze in the midst of my scolding as the memories flooded back to me. Everything flashed in front of my eyes in a hazy condensed version. All the secret kisses late at night, all the sneaking around, how I told Zoro we were just screwing around and I wanted nothing more from him. When I realized that I felt something a lot deeper than that and I ran from him because the thought scared me. I ran because we both knew that we could never do 'just screwing around' and that he actually felt something more serious than friendship with me as well, and it was terrifying. That night of celebration after he had loudly declared to the crew that he loved me and didn't give a shit who knew, came back to me the hardest. The dancing and celebrating, the drunken stupor I had been in. I had kissed him so roughly that Sanji had thrown up over board exclaiming that he couldn't believe that I could kiss a brute like that. Chopper had ordered us never to show so much public affection again but we hardly did anyways. Nothing had changed with the crew, only now Zoro and I shared a makeshift room above my old one that I shared with Robin that Franky made for us. I remembered the confession I had made to Zoro after a rough fight with marines. How he had saved me last-minute like always and how I made him promise to never give me up. It all came crashing down around me and he had waited months for me to realize all of this. I flushed a bright red. How the hell could I have forgotten so much between us? He was everything to me.

"Who is this old guy anyways?" I asked trying to change the subject as more memories flooded back to me. I felt slightly nauseous as the room began to spin; I tried to keep my focus on Zoro's warm hand and Luffy beside me. Luffy shrugged in response.

"He keeps saying he's my father or something weird like that-"

"Ah Straw Hat boy. I see you have found Nami-girl. Did you ask her to go with you already?"

"Oh hey Ivan-kun," Luffy greeted. I repressed my growl at the flaming man. He had interrupted my argument with Zoro earlier and told me to wait here for further orders. He shuffled in the door with a few other men in suits and sunglasses trailing behind him. "Yeah she agreed."

"Nami-girl. We need to-"

"I'm already going on this stupid mission do you really need to drill me about what I do and don't remember?" I hissed interrupting him. Luffy gave me a disproving frown and Ivankov looked slightly bashful.

"I merely asked you to wait here to brief you on your mission. Luffy might have asked you but there are more things at stake here than kicking an old enemy's ass," he said rather crisply. I felt rather ashamed but I didn't lower my glowering gaze from him.

"We have tried to contain you since you have woken up. I'm sure you've noticed the rather constant guard on all entrances and exits as well as a discrete watch on you."

I nodded rather tersely. I refused to open my mouth and settled for biting my tongue. I would wait for all the cards to be placed on the table.

"It is rather clear that you knew of this, that you knew vitally important information and withheld it from us, all the while attempting to infiltrate the government base on your own-"

"I wasn't trying to infiltrate. It was just a test run to see if I could do it smoothly," I growled. I had passed one test I set for myself but not the other.

"Either way you're still the ideal candidate for the mission to be carried out. Even if you do refuse to coöperate fully," he mumbled the last part with a slight smile on his lips before continuing. "While you seem to exercise some restraint over your captain it would be very beneficial if you were able to secure the machine that you failed to retrieve last time. It would save a lot of lives, and prevent a lot of fighting."

He paused as if waiting for me to interrupt.

"I don't care about your motives. Just give me a general idea of where it's located and I'll get it. It's the machine that will help Chopper right? I'm stealing it for him to use. Not you," I said crisply. There was a thick silence that seemed to hang in the air. The only sound was Luffy next to me munching loudly on whatever food he was currently stuffing into his mouth.

"We have one other request. After you secure the machine we ask that you and Luffy destroy the base."

"What am I supposed to do? Tell him 'Luffy, Smash' and expect the place to be demolished? That isn't how it works."

"How can you agree to all of this but not that?" Ivankov asked his tone more of an annoyed amusement than real disbelief.

"It's Luffy. He'll destroy the building no matter what," I responded flippantly.

"Perfect. You two will set out in a few hours. I recommend getting some slee-"

"Hang on a minute. You don't get to enlist two Straw Hats and leave out the rest of us in all the fun," Zoro snapped. "I'm going with," he added his tone dipping ever so slightly.

Ivankov blinked a few times before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's best not to let your emotions get the best of you. It's been proven that Nami-girl is your weakness. We can't have you getting into danger like that again-"

"I won't let my emotions get the best of me if I can keep an eye on her," he growled.

"You only have one eye Zoro," Luffy chirped up obviously ignoring the darkening mood of the swordsman.

"Shut up Luffy," he hissed before turning his glowering gaze back on Ivan. "I trust my captain. That isn't the issue here. I would just feel better if I could sta-"

"If you trust your captain then why are we having this conversation hmmm?"

"I said that wasn't the issue-"

"Zoro," Luffy's serious tone cut through the room. "I'll protect her."

Zoro's head dipped before he sighed and released my hand to stand up and stretch. He sat back down letting his body slump in relaxation.

"The rest of your crew will be needed on various assignments, mostly to aid each other in completing this task," Ivankov reassured a hard distant look in his eye.

With those final distant professional words laid out before us the uncomfortable silence came back tenfold.

"You guys better go get some sleep then."

His voice gave off no vibe that he was upset still. In fact it seemed like he had dropped the matter completely. However, I caught the look in his eye as I stood up mimicking him. It was like a raging fire in his soul and he was barely containing it. Everyone else seemed oblivious to it but he was doing a good job keeping his gaze locked elsewhere. Luffy, Ivankov, and the few revolutionaries that had followed him in, filed out. Luffy paused at the door.

"Umm… Nami?"

I inclined my head to show I was listening without turning around. My gaze was still locked on Zoro. There was a thick pause as Luffy seemed to be debating on what to say to me. I glanced over my shoulder to see him frowning at me.

"Don't break his heart again."

And then he left the room letting the door swing shut behind him.

I winced at his warning but I knew it was justified. Luffy could be very observant when he wanted to be. Plus our captain was extremely protective of his friends; I was the one that messed things up last time so I should be held accountable for it. I sighed and set my determined gaze back at Zoro. His posture was still relaxed and he was slumped slightly in his seat, he kept his eye locked on the bottle of cola in front of him.

"Zoro?" I started timidly and sat back down across from him. He didn't answer me at first. He stared at his cola bottle for several long minutes before reaching forward and downing down the last few drops. He burped and unceremoniously wiped the back of his hand across his lips.

"I train every day to be the strongest in the world," he started weakly. "I do it so I can protect Luffy and everyone on this crew. But no amount of training can bring back someone from the dead if I'm not there to save them."

I let his words sink in. I had a vague feeling that he wasn't referring to me or his worry about what could happen if we parted ways but it seemed to relate somehow. I struggled to take a deep breath and remain calm. I hoped my voice would come out reflecting that.

"Luffy will be with me… and I'm not as helpless as you think."

"I don't think you're helpless," he paused as if he was fighting with himself with what he could and couldn't say before he sighed in exasperation. "I- dammit Nami," he hissed hitting the table again causing me to jump slightly.

"I can't lose you again. I thought you were dead. I'm-I'm not strong enough to lose you… not again."

There wasn't a tear in his eye but his face had gone from red anger to deathly pale as his thoughts were vocalized. His hands clenched together so tightly I could see the whites of his knuckles.

I reacted in a strange way. Instead of trying to comfort him like he had for me earlier I found myself snorting at his response. His good eye flashed up at me in irritation.

"You never thought I was dead or you wouldn't have come looking for me," I told him cheekily. His blank look told me I was on the right path of making this better for him. We had different ways of reaching out to each other. Mine was teasing him, and his was surprisingly tender when he wasn't teasing me back. I wasn't sure how to help him the gentler way, this was all new to me, so I was going to comfort him the only way I knew how for now. And it would work, because Zoro knows what I am trying to do.

"And you gave me that flare. I still have it. If anything goes wrong I can just shoot it into the air and you'll be able to find me," I continued. I timidly reached out and grabbed his hand. It was a lot larger than mine, and calloused, but it was very warm. Following my instincts I raised it to my cheek, closing my eyes as I rubbed the back of his hand up and down the length of my face.

I guess I could do tender as well. My body at least knew what to do. Continuing to follow my instincts I got up and walked to his side of the table, sitting much closer than I would at breakfast or lunch. I rested my hand on the inside of his leg not letting myself blush in the process. I heard his breath hitch and he quickly moved his hand down to move my hand. It ended in a weird hand wrestle until finally he held my hand tightly between us. My other hand moved to his shoulder and he turned slightly to face me fully.

It was like a dream after that. My hand traveled to his hair and played with the base of his hair line. I leaned forward and nibbled on his earrings before playfully pushing his head to the side to expose his neck. I was surprised that he let me do all of this, but he seemed too dazed to do much else. Before I knew it I was licking and kissing the pulse point on his neck. His free hand moved to grasp my hips and pull me into his lap so that I straddled him. Then it really became a blur or better yet a whirlwind. Our lips crashed together in such a heated frenzy there was no other way to describe it. I could feel my body reacting to every move he made, and he was the same. It was like the Nami from before had taken over my body and I was having an outer body experience watching her kiss him. It was so passionate. It all came to a screeching halt when I softly moaned.

He pulled away from me but didn't untangle me. His hands traveled up to capture my head and hold me in place as he pressed his forehead against mine. At the contact of our skin I felt a pleasant buzz and my lips seemed to burn to remind me that wasn't even half of the passion I could experience with Zoro. I swallowed nervously. We stayed like that for a moment, both of us panting. It was a nice change of pace that this time our shortness of breath was from kissing each other senseless than screaming our heads off at each other.

"You'll come back to me right?" he whispered. He sounded almost scared but I excused it as the shortness of his breath. Zoro didn't do scared.

"Yes…" I puffed out. "Besides my sister is still here. I," I Paused and took a deep breath at the sharp look he gave me, "I mean, _We_ didn't go through all of that just to leave her without a goodbye," I added for good measure. Zoro cracked a small smile at that and kissed me lightly on the lips.

The problem was though, that now that I had a taste of what I had been missing physically with him I wasn't sure if I could settle for just a kiss. Zoro seemed to sense that and pulled away quickly before finally untangling me from his lap.

"Why don't we go to bed?" he offered quietly. I really didn't want to part from him but I could use all the energy I could get for tomorrow resting up was probably the wisest choice I could make.

"Only if you come to bed with me," I whispered in his ear giving him a flirtatious wink for good measure.

The trip back to my room was uneventful, but I hardly got the rest I was going to desperately need in the morning. I wasn't the wisest Straw Hat anyways.

()()()()()()()()

"Ready?" Luffy asked. He seemed to be filled to the brim with uncontrollable excitement. I guess we were finally going somewhere new to him and he would get to explore… even if he was going to destroy the place in the process.

"Just a sec," I mumbled and I tried not to blush as I made my way over to Zoro.

He was standing to the side with Franky and Robin looking slightly annoyed. Sanji, Usopp and Brook had left earlier to take their positions for the outbreak of Others and zombies that were going to try to sabotage us. Brook had collected enough intelligence to know that once a place was known to have rebels in it, it was watched night and day. Our large school was now under constant surveillance. It would be impossible to evacuate everyone safely so we had to go out fighting or at least distract them while the women and children were taken somewhere else safe. This was the show down we all had been waiting for. I shifted on my feet nervously.

"I still don't see why Chopper can't trade me," Zoro grumbled as I drew closer to him.

I think everyone felt safest if at least one of the monsters was with them and with nine people on our crew it seemed only logical to have one in each group. That might be part of the reason but the other reason was that it could get annoying for everyone with Sanji and Zoro's constant competition over any little thing. They could take care of themselves, that wasn't what was in question, but it was_** annoying**_. But this time there was a good reason. We all had our missions, or jobs that needed to get done and we were all matched perfectly for the ones given to us.

"Chopper has to be with me to make sure I grab the right machine this time and to see if he can work it without much help. Who knows he might be able to use it right there and end this whole thing…"

"Whatever," Zoro growled before pulling me close to him and letting his lips brush against mine.

In the background I could hear Luffy making an inappropriate comment along with Franky saying something equally bad if not worse. Robin giggled and Chopper was yelling in shock at our antics. It didn't make me pull away from Zoro though. His lips were so gentle and soft I could have stayed like that for a very long time.

He pulled away and gave me a satisfied grin.

I didn't say anything else or even bother muttering goodbye. He didn't either. I guess we didn't like the prospect of either of us failing. I was about to walk away as he caught my wrist and gave me a hard look.

"Stay with Luffy and if that idiot runs off then at least stay with Chopper."

I nodded before giving him a bright smile.

"I'll see you when all of this is over," I told him confidently. He dipped his head in acknowledgement before snapping at Franky. I missed what was said but I knew the cyborg had said something to antagonize Zoro like he normally did.

I shuffled back over to Chopper and Luffy, unable to really stay around him longer. I couldn't do it. I would just want to stay next to him the whole time and lose any resolve to do anything for myself.

I sent a resentful look over my shoulder to the school that had housed us for the past few months. It seemed unreal how much time has passed between those walls but I can't say that I'm sad about our leaving. The school stood almost defiantly against the sharp blue sky, it was boarded up, with thick chains around the door. Several people were on the roof armed with snipping guns, while others were escorting people to 'safe areas' for when we opened the gate. It was chaotic to say the least and it was about to be a lot worse. I tried not to think about all the people that were housed in this school and what would become of them if we did fail… needless to say I would get hit with a very heavy sense of guilt. The air around us seemed to spark with electricity as more and more people came shuffling out of the school. I started shifting from foot to foot and glanced at the metal gate.

It was a straight shot for us from here to the government building and I can't decide if that is on accident or not. We would be heading out separately in groups of three, Sanji, Brook and Usopp had left earlier this morning and were lying in wait for us along the trail and would stay outside the building as backup. Zoro, Robin, and Franky each had separate missions but they are going to enter at the same time. Franky had something to do with the machine I am stealing and we are going to meet up on the second floor next to one of the main offices before he launched everyone safely out of the building. By everyone I mean Chopper and I seeing as he is the one person I am under no condition allowed to be separated from.

"Nami?" Luffy questioned from beside me breaking me from my thoughts. _We have a plan_, I told myself, _it's going to work out just fine_.

I nodded and sent him a small smile.

"Yosh! Let's go!"

* * *

**A/N: **_Quick note. Two pieces of my dialogue were directly inspired by 'The Incredible's' and 'The Hulk' no copyright infringement intended hahaha_. _ I normally do not use the Japanese titles in names but sometimes I feel like it needs to be expressed. In this case Ivankov is the only one I've heard Luffy using an actual title for and I wanted to show the easy greeting was a sign of friendship and how Nami is fabricating things that aren't there still in a small way. Luffy trusts these guys at this point in the real story as far as I know... :p._ _I want to thank everyone who has reviewed or read this story so far. I'm thrilled with the outcome. I'm not really big on zombie stories myself so when I hit a rut for writing this, it was several encouraging reviews and PM's from friends that got me back to this story. A few more chapters to go. Are you guys hanging in there with me? _


	10. Chapter Ten

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Ten**

"_You've been a naughty girl, Nami. Refusing your orders," Arlong was grinning down at me as I held my cheek. I spat out the blood that filled my mouth at his feet and tried to keep my gaze locked firmly at the wall with a blank stare. I tested my arm slowly, trying to see if it was broken or not before wearily standing back up. The numbness in my arm told me my body was either in shock from a break or I had dislocated it. I hoped for the later, it would do no good to fight with a broken arm. _

"_I don't have any direct orders," I said easily and in the best monotone voice I could manage. It was getting harder and harder to play the part of a brain washed Other every day. _

"_I gave you one. I told you to finish that swordsman and cook."_

"_With them combined, I'm not strong enough to defeat them."_

"_Then you die trying. Yet, you're not dead are you?"_

_His strong hand shot out and wrapped around my arm. I tried not to wince but it was nearly impossible, I was slightly proud that at least I didn't whimper or squeak. Arlong seemed to have lost any shred of sanity he might have possessed before this. He had always been cruel and more on the imbalanced side of things, I have always hated him with a fiery passion, but it does help to know ones enemies. He wasn't behaving normally. This vendetta he had for Luffy was unnerving. He wanted to do more than kill my captain. He wanted to torture him, slowly and if possible, painfully. _

_He flung me into a wall and towered over me. I felt something shatter in my rib cage, white-hot pain laced my side and I could feel the warm blood escaping my body and drenching my clothes in several places. My arm hung loosely at my side, telling me that I had dislocated it. I hissed as I pushed my arm back into its socket thankful for a split second before the pain took its place. My arms shook as I pushed myself back up, this time facing him. I could feel my time running out. I was dying, but I'd be damned if I let this bastard torture me right until the end without a fight. _

"_I'm not so weak anymore Arlong," I growled lowly, "I have the same power you do."_

"_You're still weaker, human," he taunted leering down at me. "You still can't defeat me."_

"_Not on her own."_

_Robin emerged from the shadows a hard and pissed look in her eye, Usopp and Brook quickly followed. No. No they can't be here. They didn't understand, they don't realize that I have to do this on my own. I have a way of ending this for everyone. _

"Are you okay Nami?" Chopper's squeaky voice broke my thoughts. I shook my head to clear it before looking at my friend.

"I'm fine. Just thinking," I told him quietly. Luffy was leading the way humming loudly. I had been expecting a huge fight the second we stepped out of the protected gate surrounding the school but we had yet to meet any problems.

It was unnerving how quiet the woods were. We hadn't yet reached the spot that we were meeting everyone. It seemed a little odd that we hadn't left together but we always were broken up into groups like this.

Chopper was staring at the ground frowning. I was tempted to ask him what he was thinking about but something was holding me back. My friends' hadn't all been truthful with me lately. There was something big that I am missing. Chopper's confession of me not forgetting them on purpose a few days back came back to the front of my mind. If I hadn't forgotten them on purpose how had I lost my memory? Also why was Zoro the one to tell me that Chopper had been able to make a drug to fix people within a day? Why hadn't Chopper said anything when we had been near my sister talking about the drug? Were they hiding this from me or was it that they didn't want the revolutionaries to hear?

I pushed the morbid thoughts of what could have been from my head and focused on making as little noise as possible. The woods themselves seemed almost too quiet and it was starting to unnerve me. Luffy was, as always, making as much noise as humanly possible when I needed him to be silent. We managed to get about half way to the government base when the zombies caught on to us; either that or they were waiting all the way out here for us.

Suddenly, the bush rustled next to us and a small group of zombies stumbled out. It could have been a lot worse with only the three of us, but the group that came after us seemed small and not as big of a hindrance but more of a test. With the ease of this fight my mind was allowed to wander again. I was starting to wonder why we had all left the school at different times. It made sense to have Zoro hang back a little to protect the school and the survivors, but he wasn't one for hanging back and letting everyone else rush forward. Robin was there as well so if he decided to leave his post (or got lost) at least one of us would be there to help the revolutionaries. Franky would be wandering the woods alone and hopefully finding a way to meet up with me and Chopper later. I cursed silently under my breath. This is why I should have planned this little excursion. I should have been more active in working with the revolutionaries, and made it more efficient for us. There was nothing I could do now. I sighed and hoped that it would work out like it always would.

I drew my Clima Tact and stuck down a zombie with a vicious blow. These monsters were rather easy to take down. There was nothing really terrifying about them compared to the Others. Only a zombie was harder to kill. Only head shots were able to destroy them. I patted the gun that was strapped to my chest for reassurance as I kicked out at another zombie. With a fluid movement I jumped up to strike at the one that had been creeping up on Chopper. Within a matter of seconds the ground was littered with the monsters and the stench of blood tainted the air.

I took several deep breaths and made sure to keep my back pressed against Chopper's for reassurance. I wasn't the best when it came to blood, it often made me queasy and I never liked to stay around it long. Sure I could wrap a wound here and there but that doesn't mean I like it.

Chopper seemed to be in the same state I was in and after several seconds the quiet eeriness of the forest was pressing on us again. I managed to grab Luffy right before he took off in the wrong direction.

"Stay close," I whispered to the two of them. This time I took the lead, careful to keep a firm hand on Luffy's shirt.

Several more quiet miles later we were in front of the government building. Even in the daylight it looked daunting, and intimidating. The last time I had been here I had been struck with an odd sense of foreboding, but with Luffy at my side and Chopper at my other I felt safe. It was just an eerie building and the lighting from the late afternoon sun made it look that way.

"Yosh," Luffy grinned stepping forward suddenly.

"ARRLLLOOOOONNNNGGGGGGG!"

I was filled with a sense of dread at how familiar this all was. I knew this ending though. I smiled and patted Luffy on the shoulder.

"Leave the rest to us," I said grabbing Chopper's hand.

"Shihihihihi," Luffy agreed smiling at us before bellowing into the air, "GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE SO I CAN BEAT IT."

I winced at his choice of words and disappeared into the cover of the forest just as the main door creaked open and familiar laughter reached my ears. I hated that laugh. Shuttering I dragged Chopper with me. We just had to scale a wall on the other side of the building and sneak in through a loose window. It was cake walk with Luffy causing such mayhem out front. I heard the signal and I knew that Usopp was providing covering fire, and I heard Sanji's furious shout, as well as the twang of Brook's violin. They were together, they were fine. I let out a slow breath of relief before tugging on Chopper again.

"Let's go," I hissed. It felt like he was dragging his feet. I glanced at him surprised to see the tears in his eyes.

"What… Chopper?"

"I'm sorry Nami," he wailed. I shushed him and roughly placed my hand over his mouth.

"What the hell are you going on about?" I hissed yanking him with me behind a tree. We could still get caught, I had no clue what was in the woods out here around the base.

"I should have told you," he wailed in my hand. I tried to not let it faze me that his tongue had accidentally hit my hand so I repressed my grimace. I didn't want to upset him any more than he already was. I didn't like seeing him like this.

"Told me what?" I asked impatiently. As much as I don't like seeing him like this, this also isn't the place for it. Half of me wanted to smack him and tell him to get ahold of himself, the other half wanted to know…

"That Robin…" he sobbed a little harder. "It was Robin that made you lose your memory…" he coughed. "Please Nami… you can't do it again. It isn't going to work. It doesn't have to be that way…"

"_Na… mi," Robin was struggling to breath as my hands clasped around her, I loosened my grip unsure of my strength… just in case I didn't want Arlong to wake and see me talking causally to a friend. I had barely managed to knock him out, I'm sure he's hovering in the state between consciousness. I could feel something wet against my face but my vision was still clear. It could have been blood but I'm sure it is tears. _

"_Run on the count of three," I whispered lowly. Her eyes rolled back slightly before she let out a sigh with a breathy yes attached to it. Her hands shot up to grab mine, her eyes bore into me. _

"_You can't…" she panted. _

"_It's the only way. I can hack the main system and use my chip to destroy all the others. The system will implode and all the Others will be turned back to normal or at least handicapped," I told her. I could have pulled the chip out myself but I was waiting to use it. I was waiting to ensure their safety and freedom so they could get away. I had just figured out that my chip could short circuit the other ones if hooked up to the main system. It was some glitch that Vega Punk placed in me and it was why I could resist the orders. I had over heard him talking to someone about it just a few nights ago. I tried to express my urgency but the sad look on her face refused to leave. _

"_You'll die," she hissed. Tears were streaming down from her face and her normally controlled emotions were boiling out to me. I could taste her sadness and her fear for me. She wasn't scared of me; she knew I wouldn't hurt her. _

"_You guys won't," I said firmly confirming my decision. They could get away from this blasted land; they could get back on the sea and chase their dreams. _

"_We can't… we can't do this without you," she sobbed. _

"_You guys can get away… One," I whispered. I had such a short frame of time, I didn't have the time to argue with her. It was the only way to stop this madness, to save all these people. Arlong would awake any second, I had to out run him. The rest of our crew would protect them until I got back to base. Arlong wouldn't be a threat for long. These zombies that Brook and Usopp were occupied with were child's play. It was just the sheer number of them. _

"_No," she sobbed, her hands clutching mine almost painfully. _

"_Two…" I whispered my grip relaxing even more. I sat up pulling her with me and dragged her to her feet. I could get a running start with this position. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I whipped around just as a plank of wood struck my head. I felt something crack and a sharp jolt of electricity shot through me. _

_NO. The chip. I could feel the strength draining from me as I panicked. I reached out, falling to the ground catching the sight of two Robin's frowning down at me as the world faded to black. _

I sucked in a deep breath, panting. Chopper was fanning me with a branch, a worried look on his face. I was on the ground leaning against the tree I had hidden us behind just moments ago. I felt cold sweat on my brow and I wiped at it uselessly. Chopper unscrewed the cap to a water bottle and offered me a drink. I took several large gulps before glaring up at him.

It explained the tension between Robin and I. I didn't care that she had done that, she had done it to save my life, but I couldn't help but be frustrated with the thought that I no longer had the means to end this as perfectly now. It wasn't guaranteed that this plan would work. The Others could stay the same without their chips deactivated and we weren't sure if we could get the signal to mess with the chips out in time with the drug. I took a deep breath; I was ending this, but not my life along with it. My brow furrowed as I looked to Chopper.

"You removed the chip when you had to fix my skull didn't you?"

He nodded his fur paling at my realization. I stretched my arms over my head feeling annoyed. I jumped to my feet, trying to shake the feeling back into my bones.

"I'm not mad Chopper," I breathed out after several tense moments. He nodded, his gaze locked firmly on the ground.

"I was being stupid, I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt me, just knock me out."

He nodded again.

"So I'm not mad at anyone. I'm annoyed with myself for thinking of such a stupid plan and thinking that was the only way… we have a better plan now," I told him smiling. He let out a long breath of relief before he smiled up to me.

"I didn't want to trigger your memory by talking about the medicine or anything related to it too much," he admitted.

"It's fine," I told him smiling. "We've been delayed long enough. We need to get moving."

"Yosh!" he squeaked.

We high-fived. Despite the urgency of our mission I couldn't help but feel a little lighter and more relaxed. Gaining a memory always seemed to boost my confidence and this one explained so much. I was glad it had returned now and not a minute sooner. If it had been at any other time my distrust for my friends would have returned, now it eased my fears and soothed my worries. We had a plan. We were acting on it, and we would succeed and get the hell off this damn land locked country.

The rest of the trip went smoothly. I jumped the wall and helped Chopper over; we easily broke in and began checking laboratories. After several rooms the second to last door had several machines and whirling dials and flashing lights. We slipped in unnoticed.

"That's it," Chopper squeaked excitedly. He went to grab the machine and frowned to see it nailed into the wall. I helped him unscrew it and after several painstaking moments we were able to pry it free.

"It's a lot bigger than the blue prints," he said seriously, frowning at it.

I smacked my head feeling frustrated with him and his childish statement.

"Well it is just a blue print. Of course it isn't drawn to scale," I hissed hitting him lightly upside the head.

"SUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPEEEERRRR!"

Chopper and I squealed and hid behind a desk just as Franky came crashing into the room.

"What the hell?!" we roared at him.

"I thought I heard someone call for a pervert," he told me winking.

"Moron," I hissed. Chopper's eyes gleamed as he studied the robot with worship evident on his face.

"It's perfect Nami. There was no way we were going to be able to move this thing by ourselves. His robot senses must have been tingling."

I have to admit he is right. There was no way I would have been able to move that thing, and it looked too large and awkward for Chopper to carry by himself, even in his human form.

"This isn't the plan Franky. You're supposed to be waiting for us. What if you had gotten caught—"

"Hey sis, don't worry about it. Everything is going to be just SUUUPPPPER!" he exclaimed. Raising his sunglasses he winked at me. I could feel a vein throbbing in my head.

"Moron," I muttered again before sighing.

"Alright so change of plans. I'll go out into the hallway and check to see if there is anyone. If those other idiots are doing their job they should all be distracted. Zoro will be coming soon and attacking from the side so that will cause an even bigger diversion. If we can slip out this side unseen we can activate the machine, then use Chopper's drug and release it into the air."

I proudly puffed up my chest to the adjustments I made to the plan.

"Why can't we just start it up in here?" Franky asked. I groaned.

"We're in a building… ventilation might stop or filter the air and keep it from ever reaching everyone. Plus the radio signal to the chips will be stronger outside without any interference," I explained.

"Supppper," he said. Which I assume is Franky's way of agreeing with me. I still don't understand that phrase.

"I'll guide you guys out and we'll be off," I said. I waited for them both to nod before I slipped out the door.

I couldn't hear any frantic footfalls. In the distance I could hear several panicked shouts and utter mayhem. I wondered if the government had ever had to deal with them before… and vaguely I wondered if the rebels had told my friends were they could find me… unless of course they hadn't figured it out until after I had been awakened. Now wasn't the time to speculate on suspicious things, so with a deep breath I focused on finding a wide window that would have the quietest shatter so we could sneak the machine out.

I found my goal about two floors down in a deserted hallway. With a sigh of relief I retreated back to Franky and Chopper.

"Okay guys," I started as I entered the room. "It's two floors down from here. It's the third window on the right side of the hallway. It's large enough and more towards the woods. It'll give us better coverage as we retreat."

"Yosh!" we all yelled as Franky hauled the machine unto his back like a giant backpack.

I heard the soft thumb outside the door. It didn't register right away that it was trouble. I was giddy with happiness. I was swimming in it. We were so close so damn close to fixing this awful mess.

The door flew open. Several pairs of ice blue eyes stared at us. Without hesitating I whipped out my staff.

"RUN!" I roared to Franky. He shot off down the hall, somehow managing to squeeze through the gap in the door that I had provided. Chopper stalled.

"Chopper!" I hissed, I sent a cloud into the air and quickly backed into the room out of range of the deadly lightning. He frowned tackling an Other and disabling it with ease.

"I can't—"

"You have to operate the machine. Go. I'll hold them off," I hissed as I swung my staff over my head and whipped an Other with Gusto Sword. They were overwhelming. I wasn't used to seeing so many, I wasn't used to even fighting one, but somehow I would manage for my friends. I could run as soon as Chopper took off after Franky. The gap in the door though was slowly closing. My route for escape becoming narrower by the second.

Hissing I grabbed Chopper and shot out of the room. I took off in the opposite direction of Franky, not because he couldn't handle these things but because Chopper and I couldn't. Chopper needed to run the machine and the numbers of the Others were too much. I had to find some way to get him to Franky. My mind went into overdrive as I dashed up the stairs, Chopper following quickly on my heels and occasionally stopping to deter an Other.

"The roof," I gasped to him hoping he would catch my thoughts. He nodded.

"There's another building we can jump across," I rushed to explain. "The connecting one is lower, it's like a garage or something they use to store their vehicles," I told him.

"If we can make it, can they?" he squeaked as we neared the large door that lead to the roof.

"We'll find out," I huffed, slamming my shoulder into the door and letting it fling into the wall with a loud bang. With Chopper safely with me we slammed the door shut and leaned against it panting. The bangs behind us were deafening. I could barely hear my own thoughts as the pounding from the Others grew louder.

"We're going to have to make a run and jump for it," I gasped panting to the adjacent end of the roof. We had just enough space to gather speed and make the leap.

"On the count of three," I yelled over the loud banging behind us.

"One!"

"Two!" he shouted.

"Three!"

We shot off. I was a split second faster so I knew I would hit the edge of the building first. I glanced behind me to see the door slam open as Chopper bared his teeth and came to a stop. A single Other stood in the doorway while several others behind him were leering. The one in the doorway had something alarming familiar in his hands. I had just enough time to stop, and grab Chopper as I pulled us closer to the edge. We would have no choice but to jump without momentum now but I couldn't exactly yell at him for it. I just had to pull him along and hope we reached the other side now.

I heard the sickening crack of a gunshot as Chopper grabbed me and shoved me behind him.

"CHOPPER!"

I shrieked as his body fell against me. Red filled my vision before the horrifying sensation of falling registered. Everything turned black before we hit the ground.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hi! I'm alive! And I'm truly sorry about the delay in updating. I only had half the chapter written and it took a lot of effort on my part to get back to it. I've been busy to say the least and this story takes a lot of effort for me because of the plot for this is actually based off a dream I had. This was an original story before I converted it to fit One Piece. Nami was originally going to be my character Ashley… and yada yada boring stuff :p. This chapter is loosely based off of what happened in my dream that inspired this all. Although there were weird guns, a parking garage and several other things that differ I'm proud to say I've been able to make so much of this story an actual story. I know some of you complain about my lack of romance but originally this wasn't ever going to be a romantic story… so yeah… sorry about my delay. My vacation threw off my writing habits. Also there was a spiderman reference. You weren't imagining it... I'm back now and I'll shut up. Cheers_

_Oceanwind~_


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Darkest Kiss**

**Chapter Eleven**

I blinked several times at the grey stone walls that took up my vision. It took my sight a while to adjust to the dim light and notice that the grey blurry lines were actually stone. My head pounded loudly in my ears making me wince but I refused to groan. Slowly my senses returned to me. I could feel cold heavy metal clamping my wrists together behind my back, I could feel something soft and sturdy pressed against my back and hands, and I could feel something wet on the ground beneath me.

Panic set in as I remembered the last few moments I had conscious, I tested my arms and legs for injuries, flexing my muscles to do so. I leaned back to look over my shoulder only to see an unconscious Chopper. I rubbed my hands against him the best I could, trying to wake him.

"Oi," I whispered frantically. "Oi Chopper."

His head drooped lazily to his side and for a moment I felt unbridled fear take over. I thought he was dead, until the soft snoring reached my ears.

"Thank god," I mumbled to myself letting my shoulders shag in relief.

I could barely make out a white bandage wrapped tightly around his small torso, it was stained red in a small spot and I felt my heart clench at the sight. This was my fault. I must have drawn the Others attention somehow when I went back to them. Groaning I leaned against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. It was the only thing in here that didn't seem to be made of stone. In fact it looked like a thatched roof covered in straw. I squinted trying to make out the light that seemed to dance through it. It had to be close to 3 or 4 in the afternoon now.

Think Nami, think.

We have to get out of here, Chopper has to get back to Franky and launch his drug into the air, and I have to fix this.

Think!

I kicked my legs out in frustration. Relieved I noticed that they were unbound, shimming I pressed my side to the wall, testing wearily to see if I was tied to Chopper or not. He slumped more at my movement but remained at the spot I had been. Gently I pushed up against the wall, using the leverage it offered to stand up. My legs shook underneath me but they didn't give out.

Good. This was a start.

Gingerly I squatted down, pressing my arms as hard as I could to the ground I took two timid steps backward over them so that my arms were now in front of me. Standing back up I stretched them over my head feeling a satisfying pop as I did so. We must've been in here for a while longer than I thought.

There was a large wooden door in the middle of the room. It had three slots, one on top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom. I tip toed over to it. At any moment some random person could come flying through and the way the hinges were ringed it would fall in towards me, but I couldn't let that thought stop me from approaching. There wasn't a handle or a way to open the door from this side, there was no lock to pick, but the slots were easy to move. Gently I cracked the middle one, bending slightly I peered out of the small peep-hole I had created.

There were two people with their backs faced to me outside the door. I could barely hear their conversation but it was nothing important. Just something about how they were currently trying to tell Luffy that they had two of his crewmates. That would mean they were setting up a trap.

Cursing I slid the slot closed and started pacing the floor.

If they got to Luffy he would run off after us, with Sanji hot on his heels, leaving only Brook and Franky. Franky would be on his own in the woods waiting for us, and he could be ambushed or possibly lose the machine. God only knows where the hell Zoro was, and Robin was hanging back to help protect the people back at the school. This whole situation was quickly becoming a huge headache and a nightmare.

I ran my hands through my hair, stopping just as they caught the bobby pins I had used to push back my bangs this morning. I pulled one out and expertly picked the locks on my hand cuffs before bending down and relieving my unconscious doctor of them as well.

Zoro… this place couldn't be far from the government house, he could be nearby. There was no way they would have been able to move us too far. At least that is what I hope. I can only cause a diversion once, and if it fails then my only choice is to sit tight and wait for those morons to find us. But we don't have time…

I didn't have my staff, it had been in my hand when we jumped and I highly doubt that whoever had captured us had returned it to my usual spot. Still I found my hands reaching into my cleavage…

The flare!

I just had to pull the tab, if Zoro was close by then he could find us, and then we could get the hell out of here and help Franky. Eagerly I bent down next to Chopper.

"Wake up," I said shaking his shoulder gently. I noticed that the ground seemed to be covered in water and that his fur was slightly damp, as well as my clothes. It didn't bother me as I nudged the reindeer again. "Chopper," I said a little louder.

I didn't want the guards to hear us, but judging by how hard it had been for me to hear them I doubt that they could hear me. At least I hope they don't. We were only going to get one chance at this.

He groaned and rolled away from my touch. I felt my brow twitch in irritation but I didn't want to hit him to wake him up. I wasn't sure how grave his injuries were. Instead I crouched down so that I could speak a little louder into his ear.

"Get your ass up, you raccoon," I hissed.

"I'm a _reindeer_," he growled back sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. I smiled before patting him on the head and standing back up.

"I know that. You just needed to wake up."

"You're mean Nami," he grumbled.

I didn't answer and patiently waited for him to wake up and realize the situation. It took him several minutes but finally he let out a terrified squeak and jumped onto my leg.

"I was shot!"

I winced at his reaction as he studied his body. He did get shot, and he did it to protect me. I didn't want to be reminded of that just yet; I didn't want the guilt to set in. We need to get moving.

"If you weren't such an idiot and had just kept running then you wouldn't have been shot," I stressed. I tried to wave it off like it was his fault but I was never good at concealing my emotions with my friends. I was _really_ worried about the wound hidden under that bandage. And I wanted him to check it to see how grave it really was, but we didn't have time. Surely the small doctor knew that as he lightly prodded around without removing the bandages, we would have to trust whoever wrapped him up.

"You would have been shot, he was aiming straight for you and in my human form I can take a hit better than you. You would have been killed," he huffed. I winced again.

"Thank you," I mumbled lowly. He nodded as he bent his head down to examine his neatly wrapped chest with a little more interest.

"Hang on… we aren't on the Sunny—"

"No but we haven't been on the Sunny in a while," I noted, trying to cut off the panic that was setting in his voice.

"We were captured. What if we can't—"

"Yes, but I have a plan," I interrupted his panicked realization with a calming hand resting on the top of his head. I gave him a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"Eh?"

"The roof is thatched," I said pointing up. "I can tell that this building has maybe four or five rooms, it's not very large, there's a short hallway out the door and a sharp turn left. I think my staff will more likely be in that room closest to the exit."

Chopper nodded following my logic.

"I'm going to light this flare up, between that gap in the roofing," I pointed to the small gap barely detectable, "Zoro should come—"

"Zoro?" Chopper asked skeptically cutting me off for the first time. I winced. Out of everyone he should doubt me; I was the one that got us into this mess.

"He gave me the flare. Anyways this is more of a diversion. We're going to set it off, hide on this side of the door and when the guards come in we'll tear out and lock them in here. If Zoro even gets here in time we'll be out before then. Sound good?"

The doctor nodded in response as I handed him the flare.

"You have better aim than I do," I told him meekly. I might have good accuracy and predicting skills but there was a difference with aiming and firing something that I wasn't familiar with. I could see the sweat drop on his brow before he nervously accepted the stick from me.

"On the count of—"

"How about now?" he said quickly, aiming for the hole and pulling on the tab before I could really register it. The flash exploded loudly in his hands. It made it through the hole but the tail of it had caught the thatched roofing on fire.

I grabbed him and we leaned against the wall, just as the door flung open.

Before the guards could even register what was going on, we had darted out the door and slammed it behind us the lock sliding into place at the force. Grinning evilly to each other for a job well done we took off down the hall way. As we rounded the hallway there was a door I had suspected but there were two guards in the way. The entrance was just behind them.

"Chopper," I yelled pointing to the door as I swung a wild kick and knocked out both of the men. He didn't acknowledge me but slammed his shoulder into the door, knocking it off the hinges. We both gaped at the sleeping Zoro inside.

"You fucking idiot!" I hissed leaping into the room and hitting him roughly upside the head.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" he snapped. He blearily blinked a few times obviously fighting off sleep.

"We should ask you that?!" Chopper and I roared together.

"Doesn't matter. Did you guys find my swords?" he questioned standing quickly. With a quick flex the rope that had bound him snapped and both of us stared at him in disbelief like he was some type of monster. _And why the hell did they use rope on this superhuman and sea stone cuffs on Chopper and I? _I thought angrily.

"It should be the next door back… I thought this would be the storage room," I answered meekly mumbling the last part to myself. I was slightly ashamed that I had been wrong but people aren't as predictable as the weather is.

Zoro grunted and made his way out into the hallway.

"Why the hell is this place on fire?" he asked dodging a falling piece of the flaming thatched roof. I ignored him, and sighing loudly I surged past him. I flung the door open with ease and quickly scooped up our weapons and Chopper's backpack that were lying haphazardly in the corner.

"Don't worry about that, idiot," I grumbled handing him his swords, "let's just get the hell out of here."

As we stumbled out of the now burning building and into the cover of the trees, I rounded on Zoro.

"How the hell did you managed to get captured?" I snapped.

I had been concerned that he would have been lost and on the opposite side of the country searching for the building, I hadn't even remembered that he had a horrible sense of direction and needed to be watched every damn second. That had completely escaped my mind in all the preparations, and although I was (slightly) glad to see the swordsman that meant the others had one less fighter helping subdue the Others. Everyone else needed him a lot more than I did at the moment.

"I was infiltrating obviously," he said waving his hand at me. His cheeks were tinted the faintest shade pink, making it clear that his annoyance was misplaced and he had just been lost yet again.

"You're such a moron sometimes," I hissed.

"Uh guys?" Chopper squeaked.

"At least I don't get captured so easily."

"You have got to be kidding me? You were dead asleep when we walked in!"

"GUYS!" Chopper snapped interrupting us. He stepped in between and gave us both a sharp look. "Why don't we go find the others and worry about this later?" he suggested. He didn't wither under my glare and gave me his own. He was right though, we did need to prioritize things.

With a huff I stole a glance around our surroundings.

"We need to head east," I said after a moment.

I could faintly hear the sounds of guns firing off but the forest made it impossible to tell in what direction it was coming from. It echoed oddly in the woods, but that gave me a hint as well. Since the sound was so distorted we were at least a mile away from the fighting, the other side of the now burning building we were in was backed by a large clearing in the forest where the sound didn't quiet reach. There was really only one way to go.

I started running, too mad at the two behind me to address them to follow me. I heard their footsteps either way as we dashed into the woods. I wasn't even sure why I felt so irritated. They both were just looking out for me, and they both have been since day one. But maybe that was my feelings of being so hopeless overwhelming me again, I need to push that aside. Of course they had to look out for me. Chopper because I am his patient and Zoro because that's just what he has always done.

We ran for a few minutes in tense silence before the sounds of gun shots and angry shouts grew louder. I distinctly heard something large crack, and then the roar of my captain. Someone had royally pissed him off, and I did not want to be the person who was on the receiving end of his anger. Finally we were on the outskirts of the battle. Luffy was a blur of motion, constantly pummeling someone (Arlong) into the ground. Usopp was in the mists of setting traps and rounding up Others away from the main fight so it would be less distracting. Sanji was in a heated battle with some government 'officials' that ran the facility, Brook was taking on several stronger looking Others who were having a hard time keeping track of him more than likely due to the fact that he had no blood, and Franky was on the outskirts firing at anyone who came too close guarding the machine. While rebels were randomly paired throughout the closed field fighting randomly with Others and the government alike. It was utter chaos. It wasn't clear which side was winning or losing. Although judging from the Straw Hats alone, I'd say we are kicking ass.

"Take this to Franky," Chopper said handing me his back pack. "I'm going to help everyone."

I grabbed his wrist firmly before he could take off.

"You're still hurt Chopper," I growled. He looked down like he was just seeing the bandage for the first time.

Zoro strode past us. A wicked gleam was dancing in his eye that only came with a promise of a good fight. I haven't seen that look in a long time, and it brought a light smile to my face as he turned to face us. He slipped off his bandana for a split second before taking a step closer to me as he drew his swords.

"Would you do the honors?" he barked roughly.

He was teasing me, at a time like this. I was about to hit him upside the head when the soft cloth fell into my hands, and he turned his back to me. I felt something familiar with this. It was like I had done this for him before. Leaning up with shaking hands I tied the bandana around his head expertly and without much effort on my end. He grinned wolfishly over his shoulder but didn't turn around fully.

"Chopper," he said firmly calling the frowning doctor to attention. "You watch out for Nami. Get her to Franky and end this thing. You're the only one that will know what to do anyways."

Chopper grinned as he transformed into his Walking point next to me. He nodded in response and started leading me around the edge of the woods so we could race towards Franky.

That's it? No sweet tender kiss like the one we had shared earlier? No goodbye? No good luck?

I caught Zoro's eye over my shoulder as I dashed away with Chopper. He smirked once before sliding a sword into his mouth.

I found a smile touching my lips again. That's what the bandana had been for him. It had been all those things, and it was me wishing him luck as well. We couldn't risk a kiss in front of our enemy's that was plain stupid, because they would could only use that against us.

Before I knew it we were in front of Franky. Both of us leaning over and panting at our last sprint.

Chopper was digging around in his backpack next to the machine and Franky was standing guard over us as he fired rapidly at the zombies and Others that tried to make their way to us. It hit me then that I was being rather useless. I whipped out my staff and alongside Franky I started taking down anything that came to close to us.

"You guys made it! SUPPPER!" Franky smiled at me which I caught out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, just got a little side tracked," I answered back, bringing my staff around to smack the hell out of a zombie.

"Count down to drug release, and signal interference!" Chopper yelled excitedly.

The machine whirled to life behind me, a bunch of flashing lights and buttons caught nearly the entire field's attention. The lights reflected off the shadows in the trees and the hum of the machine told me it was working. I didn't need confirmation. Besides I didn't even have time to turn and look at it in awe. There were too many Others advancing on us now. Their moans filled the air, and I found myself growing frustrated with the lack of efficiency my thunder attacks seemed to have on them. I dodged an Other that was wielding a sword, just barely. There was a blur of green as Zoro cut it with ease. Fire erupted next to me as Sanji came out of nowhere and took care of an Other than had been about to hit me as well. I smiled at my two friends letting out a breath as I hurriedly took another shot at one with a Gusto Sword.

"7," Chopper shouted.

I had missed what number he had started at. My mind was too busy trying to keep up with everyone else around me. I fended off a blow, having to retreat a step as Sanji swooped over and finished my attacker. Quickly bending I took out the legs of someone who had been about to hit Zoro with a cheap shot. Franky stepped in front of me as a shot rang out and reflected off of him.

"3."

I leapt around Franky to hit another Other as it was about to sink it's teeth into the robot. I know that no harm would come from an Other's bite to Franky since he worked a little differently than the rest of us, but still it would be better not to chance it.

I didn't hear Chopper say 1 but I knew he did. I felt the rush of a giant wind behind me as orange and green smoke took to the air and mingled together causing the most beautiful shade of brown I have ever seen in my entire life. It seemed to shimmer in the light, like chocolate and gold mixed together it took to the field. Like everyone else I was frozen for a split second, in awe of the scene before me. We had actually done it.

With a whoop and renewed vigor I launched myself onto the nearest Other as it inhaled the smoke. It was coughing and gagging, and while everyone who hadn't been subdued it didn't affect them. My movement caused a loud shout as everyone followed my lead. My mind was a little clearer, I felt alive. The blood in veins felt warm and I knew without a doubt we were going to win this, as one by one the Others fell and zombies stumbled after inhaling the gas. It felt so good to be_ human_.

There was another deafening crash behind me. I turned to see Luffy slam Arlong into the building, having it start to crash around them. I smiled at the familiar scene. A bubble of laughter escaped me. I was the only one that made a sound; everyone else had seemed to fall still in worry.

"LUFFY!" I shouted as loudly as I could into the dead silence. Everyone was so worried about our captain. There was no need to be. The rumble shifted and there he stood, like he had all those years before, panting, covered in blood, but very much _alive_. "YOU'RE MY FRIEND!" I screamed loudly wiping the tears as they slipped from my eyes. It felt so good to scream it back, to know that while we both understood that friendship he should be reminded of why he had this fight, because I sure as hell didn't need reminding. Not anymore.

"YOSH!" he shouted before he fell over, probably to sleep it off.

The rest of the fight was a blur. We won; it was so easy after that.

We returned to the school, we celebrated. I waited patiently for Luffy to wake up and we hugged, both of us glad that this was behind us.

"Hey Nami," Luffy started excitedly as he began stuffing his face with all sorts of food. That kid could be quiet ridiculous when it came to eating. He could probably eat enough in one day to feed a small country. "Let's sneak out to sea in the morning," he stated, giggling slightly as he took another ridiculously sized bite out of his food.

I would have sighed at his antics but the thought of finally heading out to sea, of finally being on the ocean, to have the waves' rock me to sleep at night and the warm sun on my back during the day. It was all too exciting, I nodded in agreement.

I spent the night socializing. I out drank several rebels. I laughed with Robin as we commented on how cute Franky and Zoro were bickering over something trivial. I swapped stories of how I was captured with Usopp who had thought he had seen Kaya only to be mistaken and in a moment of sheer panic had almost been bitten. I let Chopper lean on me as he quietly sipped his orange juice, one hand held his ribs as he watched everyone with a smile on his face, and occasionally he would get up to play with Luffy and Usopp. Franky sang a song for Robin who smiled obviously happy, while I clapped for them and Brook offered to play some tunes on the piano. Sanji hardly left my side, and instead of being annoyed I found that I really enjoyed his company. Brook asked if he could see my panties a few times, and he of course would ask Robin when I turned him down. I couldn't bring myself to hit the perverted skeleton tonight. I was just so relieved, that we were all together, all alive.

And after a while, everyone began to fall asleep. Usopp and Chopper being the first to do so, next about 90 percent of the rebels (who weren't used to hard partying obviously), then Franky and Robin disappeared. Brook stopped playing music and curled up next to Luffy as the two began to talk idly to one another before they too fell asleep. Sanji eventually stopped cooking and doting on me, but he actually retired to their room instead of falling asleep out here with the rest of us. The rest of the rebels bid us goodnight, well me goodnight seeing as I was the last Straw Hat that was actually coherent and awake. I glanced to left.

Zoro was sitting on the edge of the bench next to me. His head was resting on his chest with a small smile. His eyes were closed as he pretended to sleep as the last rebel yawned and made his way to bed. I scooted closer to him, letting my head fall unto his shoulder.

"You know we never did get to kiss so hard that Sanji threw up again," he said after a few quiet moments spaced out between us. I chuckled.

"You still owe me for that one," I grumbled remembering that I had actually done it to help Zoro torture the poor cook and to get some type of confirmation that I was in fact Zoro's girlfriend.

"How about I repay you right now?" he asked huskily. He cracked open his good eye to give me a small smirk.

I smirked back.

Yes, it feels so very good to be alive.

* * *

**A/N: **_**Wow wow wow**! You guys! I'm so happy I finished this story. I know I've said this a few times about random pieces of my work but this really truly has been my favorite story to write. Ever. From start to finish I had a blast with this and I hope you guys all see it and get enjoyment too. This is my last author's note for this story. I'm actually getting really sentimental about this XD. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tearing up now. This story has been my baby... and although it has taken some twist and turns, a lot of sweat and yes even blood (that, my friends, is a really long story xD), it has been **totally** worth it. I would write a super freaking long rant, but I just can't bring myself to do so. Thank you to everyone who has given this story a chance, who has read it, who has favorited it, and who has reviewed. You guys helped fuel this story, so thank you for the support. Until next time,_

_~Oceanwind~_


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